Ketanji Brown Jackson talks with All Things Considered co-host Juana Summers.
Zayrha Rodriguez/NPR
Zayrha Rodriguez/NPR
Ketanji Brown Jackson will forever occupy a place in history as the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court.
And at a time when so many Americans have questions about the integrity of the nation’s highest court, Jackson believes fiercely in the institution of which she is the newest member.
Especially when it comes to issuing opinions on the issues that divide Americans the most.
“I think that’s our responsibility, that’s our duty. That’s what the court’s role is in our system of government.”
That doesn’t mean reaching those decisions is easy:
“I think being on a panel of nine judges is a little challenging. Most of my judicial experience came from the district court where I was by myself. One judge in the courtroom. Your own courtroom. You control everything. And so collective decision making, I think, is a little challenging. And so having to kind of navigate that is surprising.”
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The journey to the court.
Alongside navigating her role as the newest Justice, Jackson has been chronicling her path to the Supreme Court.
“I also was struck by the curiosity that lots of other people had about me after the confirmation process. And there were even biographers who approached me wanting to write my story even that early on. And I thought, ‘Well, if anybody is going to write my story, I want it to be me.’ And so that’s why I embarked on this journey.”
In her new book Lovely One, Justice Kentanji Brown shares the story of her family who shaped her, and how she navigates her personal life alongside her job, and the difficult journey she had to endure to get there.
“I was just so grateful to get through that process and to have this opportunity to serve the American people.”
Reflecting on her past.
“I wrote the book out of gratitude before I started this new chapter in my life,” Brown told NPR.
“I really wanted to take a moment and pay tribute to the people in the circumstances that I felt were most responsible for this accomplishment. As I say in the preface of the book, no one reaches them on on their own.”
One figure that marked her in particular was her grandmother Euzera.
“I talk in the book about how I recall going to church with her and with my mom and with my aunts. And it was really spiritually grounding for me as a young African-American girl, going to school in predominantly white spaces. We went to a black church in Miami and it was wonderful. And so seeing the other black people there, I think, really was very affirming for me.”
This episode was produced by Tyler Bartlam. With audio engineering by Jay Czys. It was edited by Ashley Brown and Courtney Dorning. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.
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