Ketanji Brown Jackson delivered an emotional speech Friday in celebration of becoming the first Black woman confirmed to the Supreme Court.
At an event held on the South Lawn of the White House, Jackson touted her confirmation to the nation’s highest court as a step toward progress.
“It has taken 232 years and 115 prior appointments for a Black woman to be selected to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States. But we’ve made it. We’ve made it. All of us,” Jackson said amid applause.
While standing alongside President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris quoted the poet Maya Angelou.
“The path was cleared for me so that I might rise to this occasion,” she said. “And in the poetic words of Dr. Maya Angelou, I do so now while ‘bringing the gifts my ancestors gave, I am the dream and the hope of the slave.’”
Jackson added, “I strongly believe that this is a moment in which all Americans can take great pride. We have come a long way toward perfecting our union. In my family, it took just one generation to go from segregation to the Supreme Court of the United States.”
Judge Jackson will replace Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, who is due to retire in June.
In February, Biden confirmed that he would nominate the 53-year-old to serve on the Supreme Court.
“I’m proud to announce that I am nominating Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to serve on the Supreme Court,” said Biden in a statement. “Currently serving on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, she is one of our nation’s brightest legal minds and will be an exceptional Justice.”
