Ketanji Brown Jackson becomes first Black woman on US Supreme Court

An emotional Ketanji Brown Jackson said: “We have made it,” as she acknowledged the honor and responsibility of becoming the first Black woman justice to serve on the US supreme court.

“It’s been somewhat overwhelming, in a good way, to recently be flooded with thousands of notes and cards and photos, expressing just how much this moment means to so many people,” she said.

“The notes that I’ve received from children are particularly cute and especially meaningful because more than anything, they speak directly to the hope and promise of America.

“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, and our children are telling me that they see now, more than ever, that here in America anything is possible.”

Jackson said she also appreciated the responsibility she has been handed:

“They also tell me that I’m a role model, which I take both as an opportunity and as a huge responsibility,” she said.

“I am feeling up to the task primarily because I know that I am not alone. I am standing on the shoulders of my own role models, generations of Americans who never had anything close to this kind of opportunity. But who got up every day and went to work, believing in the promise of America, showing others through their determination and yes, their perseverance, that good things can be done in this great country.”