Congratulations to Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson on her Confirmation

Dear Howard University Community,
 
I would like to wish Ketanji Brown Jackson congratulations on becoming the first Black female justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Several years ago, I had the privilege of meeting Justice Jackson, when I was invited by Merrick Garland to address the judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. Even during our brief interaction, I was inspired by her intellect and her warmth – important characteristics that I know she will bring with her to the highest court in the land.
 
In every respect, she has earned this seat. Her academic credentials, her judicial experience and her legal acumen prove that she is eminently qualified for this position. First and foremost, it is these qualifications that led to her nomination and ultimate bipartisan confirmation. But we would be remiss to overlook the role of her race and gender on the significance of this historic moment as well as the challenges she faced to arrive at this point and those that she can anticipate for the duration of her career on the bench.
 
For government to function at its best, our legislators, executives and judges must reflect the people for whom our government is intended to serve. The fact that there has never been a Black woman on the Supreme Court is an egregious wrong – one that needed a conscientious effort to correct. That is why President Biden was right to commit to nominating a Black woman to replace Justice Breyer. The longer the Supreme Court was permitted to go without the perspective of a Black woman, the less legitimate the institution would become.
 
Black women, in particular, have always had a powerful presence in our society. From homes, c-suites, schools, hospitals and every sector, women of color play an integral role in uplifting our communities and strengthening our society. Despite overt and subtle forms of discrimination that have, for so long, actively kept women from realizing their full potential, they have become indispensable leaders in all corners of our nation.
 
We should certainly celebrate and support Jackson for this historic selection. It is always difficult to be the first in anything; serving as the first Black woman, a historically discriminated and persecuted demographic, to sit on the Supreme Court of the United States, one of the most contentious and polarizing places in our country, will be as great a challenge as any individual has faced. Despite these challenges, I have the utmost confidence that Jackson is up to the task and that the country will be ready to embrace her.
 
Of course, in the polarized political environment that we live in, some degree of animosity and incivility is, unfortunately, to be expected during confirmation hearings for any nominee to the Supreme Court. And, to be sure, the history of Supreme Court confirmation hearings is mired in prejudice and bigotry. The first time the Senate determined it was necessary to hold a hearing to examine the fitness of a particular nominee was for Justice Louis Brandeis, the first Jewish member of the Supreme Court. It is clear that his opponents’ anti-Semitic prejudice motivated them to hold the hearings in attempt to block his confirmation.
 
The discourse surrounding and during Jackson’s hearings did not stray far from those unfortunate origins. From those who discounted her credentials and attributed her nomination entirely to her race and gender to those who misrepresented her judicial record by attempting to depict her as being unfit for the bench, they did a disservice both to Justice Jackson and to these Senate proceedings.
 
No matter the mastery of the law she displays on the court, no matter the insightful and eloquent opinions and dissents she writes, no matter the good she does for society by enshrining forward-thinking ideas into law and banishing those that would send our nation backward, it is likely that she will always be plagued by those who question her capability.  
 
As Justice Jackson prepares to take her seat on the Supreme Court, once again we are drawn to the conclusion that government is messy, but it works. It often operates more slowly than we would like. But at the end of the day, government has proven to give us what our society needs. It gave us Howard University; a Black president; a Black, female, Asian-American vice president; and now a Black female justice of the Supreme Court.
 
As difficult as her confirmation hearings were, we know Justice Jackson’s career on the bench will not be easy. So in addition to wishing her congratulations, we must also wish her the best and extend our unwavering support.
 
Excellence in Truth and Service,
 
Wayne A. I. Frederick, M.D., MBA
Charles R. Drew Professor of Surgery
President