Michelle Obama reflected on the historic confirmation of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court in an Instagram post on Thursday, saying she will give Black women and girls “a future we can all be hopeful for.” Jackson will be the first Black woman to serve on the nation’s highest court.
The former first lady and lawyer said she was “so moved” when Jackson received the necessary confirmation votes in the Senate.
“Like so many of you, I can’t help but feel a sense of pride—a sense of joy—to know that this deserving, accomplished Black woman will help chart our nation’s course,” Obama wrote. “So many women of color now have a new role model to look up to as she serves on the highest court of the land.”
Jackson will be the nation’s 116th justice — and only Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court — when she takes the bench after Justice Stephen Breyer officially retires at the end of this term. It’s an accomplishment, Obama said, that will inspire future generations.
“Thank you, Justice Jackson, for giving Black girls and women everywhere—including my daughters—a new dream to dream, a new path to forge, and a future we can all be hopeful for.”
On Friday, during a celebration event with President Biden, the significance of the moment was not lost on the incoming justice.
“So, as I take on this new role, I strongly believe that this is a moment in which all Americans can take great pride,” Brown Jackson said. “We have come a long way toward perfecting our union. In my family, it took just one generation to go from segregation to the Supreme Court of the United States.”
“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,” she added. “But we’ve made it!”
