Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson Becomes the First African American Female Justice on the United States Supreme Court

In February 2022, President Biden nominated Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the U.S. Supreme Court and the U.S. Senate confirmed her nomination in April 2022, in a 53-47 vote. She is the first African American woman on the U.S. Supreme Court and one of only six women ever to hold this position.

About Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson

In high school, a guidance counselor told Judge Jackson not to set her "sights so high" when she expressed interest in attending Harvard. She graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University and Harvard Law School where she was an editor of the Harvard Law Review and graduated cum laude. She clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Steven Breyer—who she recently replaced on the court—then served as a public defender representing indigent clients and also worked in private practice. In 2012, President Obama nominated Judge Jackson to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia where she was confirmed with unanimous bipartisan Senate support. She served on that court from 2013 until 2021. In June 2021, the Senate confirmed her to the U.S. Court of Appeals by a 53-44 vote. In her time on the bench, Judge Jackson authored over 500 opinions and has been described as taking a "middle-of-the-road" or moderate approach to employment law.