Black History

Confirmation Hearings Begin for First Black Woman Supreme Court Nominee

The first day of hearings featured opening statements from the 22 members of the Judiciary Committee and opening remarks from Jackson. Democratic Senator Corey Booker noted the historic nature of Jackson’s nomination. “This is a ‘Jackie Robinson’ moment for our nation,” he said during prepared remarks. “For generations, America has been blessed with extraordinary legal talent in people of all backgrounds, but for the first time in our history an extraordinarily talented Black woman will serve on the Supreme Court. I’m profoundly moved by this. My heart aches with joy.”

Published

3 years ago

March 31, 2022

Oakland Post

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, 52, currently serves as a federal judge in Washington, D.C. She will be the first Black woman ever to sit on the Supreme Court upon confirmation.

By Brandon Patterson

Confirmation hearings began last Tuesday in the Senate Judiciary Committee for Biden Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson. The hearings marked the fourth time that Jackson had come before the Judiciary Committee for confirmation, having done so three times previously when nominated for lower judiciary positions.

Jackson, 52, currently serves as a federal judge in Washington, D.C. She will be the first Black woman ever to sit on the Supreme Court upon confirmation.

Jackson was introduced by Thomas Griffith, a former conservative appeals judge, a decision likely made to underscore her willingness to be “impartial” in her decision-making, a theme which Jackson returned to throughout the hearings. In her opening remarks, she honored the role her family and mentors have played in supporting her judicial career. She also thanked Justice Stephen Breyer, whom she is nominated to replace, and whom she clerked for early in her career after law school.

Yet the first two days of the hearings were marked more by political theater than by serious questions about decisions Jackson made as a judge, or how she might rule in certain cases.

In one instance, Republican Senator Ted Cruz asked Jackson about the New York Times’ 1619 Project and her views on critical race theory.

“It doesn’t come up in my work as a judge. It’s never something that I’ve studied or relied on,” Jackson replied. “And it wouldn’t be something that I would rely on if I was on the Supreme Court.” Cruz later held up a copy of a book called “Antiracist Baby” and asked Jackson whether she believes that “babies are racist.” Jackson said she did not.

Jackson was also asked whether she supported expanding the Supreme Court beyond nine justices. She declined to say, citing then-Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett, who, during her confirmation hearing in October 2020, declined to answer the same question. “I agree with Justice Barrett in her response to that question when she was asked before this committee,” Jackson said. “Judges should not be speaking into political issues.”

Yet other questions shed meaningful light on Jackson’s approach to the law. In response to one question, Jackson said she was “reluctant” to use labels such as “originalism” to characterize her judicial philosophy, saying that the Constitution is “fixed in its meaning” but that sometimes, judges also need to look at history and context to make decisions.

A recent Gallup poll found that 58% of Americans support Jackson’s nomination to the Supreme Court. Jackson’s confirmation hearings continued throughout the week.

Sources: NBC News, Gallup News, office of New Jersey Senator Corey Booker.

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Activism

Remembering George Floyd

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Minnesota State Attorney General Keith Ellison acknowledges that the Floyd case five years ago involved a situation in which due process was denied, and five years later, the president is currently dismissing “due process. “The Minnesota Atty General also says, “Trump is trying to attack constitutional rule, attacking congressional authority and judicial decision-making.” George Floyd was an African American man killed by police who knocked on his neck and on his back, preventing him from breathing.

Published

9 hours ago

June 2, 2025

Oakland Post

Mural showing the portrait of George Floyd in Mauerpark in Berlin. To the left of the portrait the lettering "I can't Breathe" was added, on the right side the three hashtags #GeorgeFloyd, #Icantbreathe and #Sayhisname. The mural was completed by Eme Street Art (facebook name) / Eme Free Thinker (signature) on 29 May 2020. (Wikimedia Commons)

By April Ryan
BlackPressUSA Newswire

“The president’s been very clear he has no intentions of pardoning Derek Chauvin, and it’s not a request that we’re looking at,” confirms a senior staffer at the Trump White House. That White House response results from public hope, including from a close Trump ally, Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. The timing of Greene’s hopes coincides with the Justice Department’s recent decision to end oversight of local police accused of abuse. It also falls on the fifth anniversary of the police-involved death of George Floyd on May 25th. The death sparked national and worldwide outrage and became a transitional moment politically and culturally, although the outcry for laws on police accountability failed.

The death forced then-Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden to focus on deadly police force and accountability. His efforts while president to pass the George Floyd Justice in policing act failed. The death of George Floyd also put a spotlight on the Black community, forcing then-candidate Biden to choose a Black woman running mate. Kamala Harris ultimately became vice president of the United States alongside Joe Biden. Minnesota State Attorney General Keith Ellison prosecuted the cases against the officers involved in the death of Floyd. He remembers,” Trump was in office when George Floyd was killed, and I would blame Trump for creating a negative environment for police-community relations. Remember, it was him who said when the looting starts, the shooting starts, it was him who got rid of all the consent decrees that were in place by the Obama administration.”

In 2025, Police-involved civilian deaths are up by “about 100 to about 11 hundred,” according to Ellison. Ellison acknowledges that the Floyd case five years ago involved a situation in which due process was denied, and five years later, the president is currently dismissing “due process. “The Minnesota Atty General also says, “Trump is trying to attack constitutional rule, attacking congressional authority and judicial decision-making.” George Floyd was an African-American man killed by police who knocked on his neck and on his back, preventing him from breathing. During those minutes on the ground, Floyd cried out for his late mother several times. Police subdued Floyd for an alleged counterfeit $20 bill.