On Thursday, April 7, 2022, history was made when Ketanji Brown Jackson was confirmed by the United States Senate as the first African American to the Supreme Court. President Biden nominated Jackson as a Supreme Court Justice candidate on February 25, 2022. The vote to confirm her was 53 to 47 in the Senate chamber.

Jackson is a liberal US court of appeals judge and early on in her career served as a clerk to Stephen Breyer. She was also the Vice Chair of the United States Sentencing Commission until 2014. Jackson will be replacing Breyer on the Supreme Court as he announced plans to retire his seat. 

Jackson was born in Washington, D.C., and grew up in Miami, Florida. She attended college at Harvard University and later attended Harvard Law School. While a student at Harvard, Jackson was the editor of the Harvard Law review as she has always had a passion for the law field. 

Jackson served as a law clerk several times before beginning her career in the US court of appeals position. Her expertise in the law field and her many years of experience make her a great fit for the Supreme Court.

As the first African American and fourth woman to sit on the Supreme Court bench, Kentaji Brown Jackson has broken barriers and made history for the United States.

Jackson recognized the significance saying, “Girls, I know it has not been easy…But I hope that you’ve seen that with hard work, determination, and love, it can be done.”