Ketanji Brown Jackson becomes the nation’s first Black woman to serve as a Supreme Court justice when she is sworn in Thursday, minutes after Justice Stephen Breyer, who she replaces, retires.
At-a-glance: A short Ketanji Brown Jackson bio. A bit longer look in the article from Biography.com.
Here’s a handy package of stories, starting with the Senate Judiciary Committee’s landing page for Jackson. Read source documents for yourself. What might be interesting to you: The Jackson questionnaire she filled out for the committee, a complete overview of her personal and professional life.
Here’s a timeline of stories, columns and transcripts leading to the Thursday swearing-in:
Biden nominates Jackson in February. Here’s a transcript of remarks from Biden and Jackson. Biden’s comments sweep in highlights of Jackson’s biography.
A quick read: The April AP story on Jackson’s Senate confirmation vote. She was confirmed on a 53-47 vote. All 50 Democratic senators and three Republicans voted yes.
Sun-Times columnist Mary Mitchell: Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson gives us reason to hope: Her confirmation was expected but still a joy to behold.
Sun-Times editorials: Making history with a Supreme Court nominee.
Jackson deserves seat on the bench.
Sun-Times Washington Bureau Chief Lynn Sweet in March tracked the Senate Judiciary Committee hearings for Jackson:
8 takeaways: Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said Jackson, the first Black woman nominated for the Supreme Court, is “a living witness to the fact that, in America, all is possible.”
6 takeaways: The Jackson hearing threw a spotlight on the national partisan divide and underscored how Republicans are trying to paint Democrats as soft on crime in the 2022 elections.
6 takeaways from Day 2 of Ketanji Brown Jackson’s Supreme Court confirmation hearing: Senate Judiciary Chair Dick Durbin, D-Ill., turned into a one-man rapid response squad, using the power of his gavel to debunk, in real time, GOP misleading or scurrilous claims.
About Ann Williams: Trailblazing Chicago Judge Ann Williams to testify at Ketanji Brown Jackson’s Supreme Court hearing. Williams’ storied career as a federal judge speaks volumes as the Senate considers Jackson, who, if confirmed, will be the first Black woman on the Supreme Court.
Durbin to make history presiding over Jackson hearing.
The headline in April spotlighted Sun-Times coverage of Chicago figures at a White House celebration marking the Senate confirmation of Jackson: Durbin, Lightfoot, Raoul, Moseley Braun. Said Mayor Lightfoot: “Being a Black woman and ascending to the heights” that Jackson “has gotten to” means “you’ve been through it all, through every fight, you know, every trick, and you know how they don’t want us to succeed.”
What President Joe Biden, Kamala Harris and Jackson said at that White House South Lawn event: Here’s the transcript.
Harris excerpt: “So, as a point of personal privilege, I will share with you, Judge Jackson, that when I presided over the Senate confirmation vote yesterday, while I was sitting there, I drafted a note to my goddaughter. And I told her that I felt such a deep sense of pride and joy and about what this moment means for our nation and for her future. And I will tell you, her braids are just a little longer than yours.”
And if you have more time ... How Biden’s trailblazing court picks impact the federal bench in Chicago.
