By Sheila D. Tyson
This is an opinion column.
As a Black woman, I could not be prouder of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson as she proceeded through questioning this week from the Senate Judiciary Committee after being the first Black woman nominated to the Supreme Court in the 233-year history of the institution.
The committee is expected to hold a vote on Jackson’s nomination on April 4 and prayerfully she will be confirmed before the Senate leaves for a two-week April break. She is qualified.
Watching and listening to these hearings caused my blood pressure to go up. Some of the attacks from Republicans on the committee were insulting and often appeared as grandstanding. The committee seems to have a few senators who want to pontificate without really asking a question. Others appeared to attempt to demean Judge Jackson’s character, in my opinion, and lead the public down a rabbit hole of confusion about her.
Yet through it all, Judge Jackson withstood the storm of questions, attacks, accusations and became a force within the storm. She is proven, polished, poised, and accomplished. Regardless of what happens from here, being the first Black woman ever tapped to become a justice on the Supreme Court is a feat in and of itself. But I know God has more in store for her than to just be nominated.
She has displayed to young women everywhere a master class for Black women on controlling the narrative, maintaining poise, using her bright legal mind, and respectfully clapping back. She is an inspirational figure who has a proven record and proved her qualifications through her career and these hearings. The attacks and accusations have been so grueling at times that I answered aloud, “She said, what she said.” And in other times, I replied, “Excuse me, she is speaking.”
As this committee wraps up their hearing on her nomination, I look forward to celebrating the first Black qualified woman justice, who is for the fourth time, facing the Senate Judiciary Committee. I join many others as we celebrate her lifetime of service to our nation. I stand with her and have her back.
Sheila D. Tyson is Convener Alabama Coalition on Black Civic Participation
