Jackson touts US civil rights progress in 'short period of time,' says parents faced 'lawful segregation'
Ketanji Brown Jackson is nominated to be the first Black woman Supreme Court justice
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, on the verge of becoming the first Black woman on the bench, reflected Wednesday on the "very short period of time" in which the U.S. came a long way on civil rights.
During discussion with Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., Jackson said her parents grew up in Florida during the time of "lawful segregation." They went to "middle school and high school," Jackson said, "not allowed to go to school with White students."
Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, March 23, 2022, during her confirmation hearing. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Her parents grew up before Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s time, Jackson added. But now she's sitting in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee at a hearing for a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"What my being here I think is about at some level is about the progress that we've made in this country in a very short period of time," Jackson said. "Seems like a long time, but one generation we've gone from the reality of my parents' upbringing to the reality of mine."
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., followed Leahy in questioning, and complimented Jackson's comments as "wonderful." Graham also said Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, who is in the hearing room Tuesday, called the remarks, "powerful."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson's father Johnny Brown, left, and mother Ellery Brown listen during Jackson's Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, March 23, 2022. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
But Graham made clear he's still sour over how Democrats treated another Black woman judicial nominee – Janice Rodgers Brown. Democrats filibustered Brown when President George W. Bush was president.
"I wish you had that same attitude when an African American conservative is appointed to high office in the Judiciary," Graham said. "So rather than this wonderful exchange, which was wonderful, Rep. Green, where were you and others when there was a wholesale assault on her nomination? Nowhere to be found."
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., speaks during the confirmation hearing of Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, March 23, 2022. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Jackson's hearing Wednesday began with a tense exchange between Republican and Democrat senators over committee Chairman Dick Durbin, D-Ill., "editorializing," after GOP senators' comments. Durbin defended his comments as within the committee tradition of "chairman's time."
Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., the least senior member of the Senate, broke the tension with a joke asking the other members to stop "bickering."
Jackson was also grilled Wednesday by Ranking Member Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, about her judicial philosophy, and by Graham about immigration law.
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The hearing will likely continue for most of Wednesday as 22 senators will get 20 minutes each to speak. On Thursday, outside witnesses will testify about Jackson.