Ketanji Brown Jackson Sworn In to Supreme Court
Just after noon eastern time today, Ketanji Brown Jackson took the Judicial Oath and became the nation’s 116th justice on the Supreme Court. Justice Jackson, too, becomes the first Black woman to serve on the nation's highest court, and just the sixth woman.
The brief ceremony took place in the West Conference Room of the Supreme Court, and was attended by her husband, Dr. Patrick Jackson, and her two daughters, Talia and Leila. Per the New York Times, Dr. Jackson "held the two Bibles on which she swore: a family Bible and a King James version that is the property of the court."
Justices are required to take two oaths: the Constitutional Oath and the Judicial Oath. The latter reads, in part, "I will administer justice without respect to persons, and do equal right to the poor and to the rich, and that I will faithfully and impartially discharge and perform all the duties incumbent upon."
"I’m pleased to welcome Justice Jackson to the court and to our common calling," Chief Justice Roberts said at today's swearing-in. Roberts also said there will be a formal ceremony in the fall, but this swearing in will "allow her to undertake her duties, and she’s been anxious to get to them without any further delay." Justice Jackson did not make a statement.
Upon her confirmation in April, Justice Jackson said, "It has taken 232 years and 115 prior appointments for a Black woman to be selected to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States. But we’ve made it. We’ve made it. All of us." Her appointment is truly a historic milestone, and Black women around the country have celebrated Jackson—including none other than Meghan Markle.
"The civil rights history of tomorrow is being written today," Markle said. "Judge Jackson’s nomination has opened new ground for women’s representation at the highest level of a judicial system that for too long has tilted against the very community she hails from. For the millions of young women who will rightfully find inspiration from this moment, let’s remind ourselves that Black achievement is something that exists not just today or yesterday, and not just in moments of celebration, but as a fabric woven into the entire chronicle of the American story."
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