Black Mayors React to Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson SCOTUS Nomination
Published on February 25, 2022
(Washington, D.C.) — With President Joe Biden’s historic announcement that he nominates Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the United States Supreme Court, Mayor Sylvester Turner (Houston, TX) – president of the African American Mayors Association – issued the following statement of support.
“Black Mayors across the country applaud President Biden’s excellent choice to nominate Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to make history as the first Black woman to serve as a Supreme Court Justice. This nomination is a long-overdue step towards a Supreme Court that better reflects the America it serves.
“Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson is immensely qualified and will bring fresh personal and professional experiences to the court. Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson's lived experience as a Black woman enriches her perspective about the challenges everyday Americans face, and the wealthy and powerful’s outsized influence over a legal system that disproportionately punishes the poor and marginalized. Her judicial record demonstrates her firm commitment to fairness and equal justice for all.
“We, as mayors, have witnessed firsthand the importance of having people with diverse perspectives in leadership positions. A person of color brings awareness about the pernicious impacts of discrimination and implicit racial bias on our collective prosperity.
“Once Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson is confirmed, we are confident that she will continue to protect the fundamental rights of all. As a former public defender, Judge Jackson will bring important lived and experiential diversity to the Supreme Court that will help the Court better understand the law’s effects on people’s rights and lives.
“Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s nomination also comes at a critical time, as the majority on the court seems poised to curtail affirmative action, and state legislatures dilute the Black vote and voting rights. Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s perspective is immensely important in deciding future cases that will have the power to reshape American life.
“Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson will bring us closer to realizing a government of the people, by the people, for the people. We urge the Senate to quickly confirm Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court.”