‘A form of reparations’: 4 reactions to Ketanji Brown Jackson's Supreme Court confirmation

By Michael Gryboski, Mainline Church Editor Friday, April 08, 2022

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson speaks during an event celebrating her confirmation to the U.S. Supreme Court on the South Lawn of the White House on April 08, 2022, in Washington, D.C. | Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson has become the first African American woman to be confirmed by the Senate to sit on the U.S. Supreme Court.

In a vote of 53-47 on Thursday, largely falling along political party lines, Jackson was approved to fill the seat that will be vacated this summer when Justice Stephen Breyer retires. The forthcoming replacement of Breyer with Jackson will have no impact on the ideological balance of the court, which will still consist of six justices appointed by Republican presidents and three justices appointed by Democrat presidents.

In February, President Joe Biden nominated Jackson, who serves as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, to fill the impending vacancy caused by the forthcoming retirement of Breyer, the court’s longest-serving Democrat-appointed justice. His nomination of Jackson follows a promise on the campaign trail to nominate a female minority to the Supreme Court if given the opportunity to do so.

A myriad of reactions have poured in about the confirmation, with many expressing happiness over an African American woman achieving a historic milestone while others express ongoing concern over her judicial philosophy.

Here are four reactions to the Senate confirming Jackson. They include celebrations over the historic milestone to concerns over judicial activism.