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Caribbean Life, April 14-20, 2022
Notorious KBJ adds justice to America’s highest court
History was made in America on April 7.
“I strongly believe that this is a moment
in which all Americans can take great pride,”
trailblazer Judge Ketanji Brown-Jackson said
on that date.
“We have come a long way toward perfecting
our union,” the newly confirmed justice
to the Supreme Court added.
From the White House lawn, the 51-yearold
jurist issued her perspective on the historic
confirmation which will allow her to sit
on America’s highest judicial bench saying:
“In my family, it took just one generation
to go from segregation to the Supreme Court
of the United States.”
She will join the nine-member body to
decide law in America from the highest seat
of the law.
“The path was cleared for me so that I
might rise to this occasion. 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,’” Justice
Jackson added.
Soon after her confirmation, tee-shirts
surfaced crowning Notorius KBJ with the
title given her predecessor Ruth Bader Ginsburg
who was hailed Notorious RBG in parody
of Brooklyn achieving, rapper the Notorius
BIG.
KBJ shattered the glass ceiling at the
Supreme Court, raised the roof for Black
females in America and floored a space in
history as a trailblazer for sex and gender
advancement.
In the eyes of many, her nomination signals
aspirations of hope and change for America
similar to that effected in 2008 when Harvard
Law School graduate Barack Obama was
elected the first Black president.
His campaign emphasized “Yes We Can”
a mantra that promoted optimism for the
unlikeliest of citizens.
The irony is that Harvard Law School
graduate KBJ was nominated by President
Obama’s vice president, Joe Biden and was
confirmed winner by the now commander-inchief
and president’s, Vice President Kamala
Harris, the first of her race and gender to
serve at the White House.
The historic significance could also be
regarded with poetic justice considering the
fact the former vice president/current president
fulfilled a major campaign promise
which inks double victory with the unprecedented
announcement from a Black female
vice president confirming the nomination
of the first Black, female Supreme Court
Justice.
Biden’s triumph, not only unprecedented
in the history of America but despite cult-like
Republican resistance, persevered ensuring
Judge KBJ not being denied justice and a seat
on America’s highest bench.
She was voted 53-47 by every Democrat in
the House of Representatives and three fairminded
Republicans who believed that after
233 years, a Black woman deserved a place
there and that KBJ qualified to make history.
Only five women — Sandra Day O’Connor,
Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sonia Sotomayor,
Elena Kagan and Amy Coney Barrett — have
served on the Supreme Court.
Black men have only been appointed twice
— Thurgood Marshall and Clarence Thomas.
“Judge Jackson’s confirmation was a historic
moment for our nation,” Pres. Biden
said in a tweet.
“We’ve taken another step toward making
our highest court reflect the diversity of
America. She will be an incredible Justice,
and I was honored to share this moment
with her.”
Republican debate about her qualifications
parodied a circus side-show focusing on
irrelevant questions which she dignified with
polite courtesy, patience and tolerance.
As to the queries, this column will not
indulge with repetitious rhetoric only to
mention an insidious Rev. Jeremiah Wright
moment similar to the relentless demand
Obama faced to dismiss a relationship he
shared with his pastor.
Catch You On The Inside!
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, accompanied
by Vice President Kamala Harris,
speaks during an event on the South
Lawn of the White House in Washington,
Friday, April 8, 2022, celebrating
the confi rmation of Jackson as the fi rst
Black woman to reach the Supreme
Court. Associated Press/Andrew Harnik
Inside Life
By Vinette K. Pryce
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