Ketanji Brown Jackson, nominated by President Biden to replace Stephen Breyer on the Supreme Court, would be
the first former public defender to serve as a Justice if confirmed. (Photograph by Carolyn Kaster / AP / Shutterstock)

By Dr. Bridgette Baldwin

The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in our judicial system. And there has never been a Black woman appointed to the bench. President Biden’s most recent nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson would change the literal complexion of U.S. Supreme Court’s history.
The court was created by the US Constitution in 1790. Members of the court are called justices, not judges. Justices are appointed by the current President and must be confirmed by the Senate before they become members of the bench. Supreme Court justices serve for life or until they opt to retire. While there are currently nine justices on the Supreme Court now, that number has fluctuated throughout history, ranging from six to the present total in 1869.
There have been approximately 120 justices appointed to the Supreme Court. The first African American justice was Thurgood Marshall. Justice Marshall was appointed by former President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1967 and served 24 years on the Supreme Court. He was a champion of civil rights and voted in favor of many laws that protected the rights of citizens without regard to race. In 1991, Justice Marshall retired and was replaced by the very conservative Justice Clarence Thomas, despite protests because of the Anita Hill controversy.
Out of the 120 justices who have served on the Supreme Court, there have only been five justices appointed who were women: Justices Sandra Day O’Connor, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Amy Coney Barrett. Justice Sandra Day O’Connor was the first woman appointed by former President Ronald Reagan and served from 1981 until 2006. Justice Sotomayor was the first Latina appointed . She was appointed under the Obama Administration and has served since 2009. There has never been another woman of color appointed to the Supreme Court.
On January 27, 2022, Justice Stephen Breyer, one of only three liberal justices on the Supreme Court, announced that he was retiring. Justice Breyer is not only the oldest member of the Supreme Court, but has also served the longest, a total of nearly 28 years after being appointed by President Bill Clinton in 1994.
President Biden’s nomination of an African American justice follows through on a promise he made to African American voters during his election. Biden had a tough decision to make because there were highly qualified Black contenders including South Carolina District Court Judge J. Michelle Childs and California Supreme Court Justice Leondra Kruger. Ultimately, Biden decided on Justice Breyer’s former law clerk, Brown Jackson, of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Republican appointees and conservative ideology now dominate the court. However, President Biden has taken the opportunity to put up a nominee that could continue Breyer’s liberal legacy. Nominee Brown Jackson offers a wide range of experience and would add much needed diversity to the highest court of the land. But, if the appointment of Justice Thomas has taught us anything, it is that a Black or Brown face does not guarantee an advocate for social justice. Nonetheless, the appointment of an African American woman will offer the opportunity to hear from a new perspective that has never been considered in the highest court before. ■