Senate confirmation hearings for U-S Supreme Court nominee, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson will begin on March 21. If confirmed, Jackson would be the first Black female to be seated on the Supreme Court bench. That historic possibility has stirred emotions and inspired the next generation of the Black legal community. Southern University Student Bar Association President Nzhada Harris is among them.
“I’m excited to see someone that looks like me, but beyond that, I’m excited to see someone that’s qualified,” said Harris. “So many great things that she’s done, I’m really excited to see what she’s going to do.”
Harris says that Judge Jackson would bring a strong combination of legal skill and experience, with two Harvard degrees, 10 years as a federal judge, and having clerked for Stephen Bryer, whom she’s been nominated to replace. And believes her experiences as a woman and as a person of color are going to add a much-needed perspective to the court; one more reflective of the nation as a whole.
“It’s not enough to just have people in the room for the sake of diversity, just because they exist,” she said. “It’s important to have inclusion and I feel like having someone in such a high seat, it reflects a different level of inclusion.”
There will be challenges for Jackson in her confirmation. Research from the Law & Society Review has shown that when people of color and women have been nominated to the high court, they have faced greater skepticism and received less courtesy than their white male counterparts. Harris says that she understands the battle ahead for Judge Jackson but remains hopeful.
“It’s unfortunate,” Harris added. “Racism is rampant. Prejudice is rampant. You face misogyny for being a woman and you face racism and prejudice for being Black, but in my lifetime to see something like this happen, I’m very excited for this.”
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