Ketanji Brown Jackson
Ketanji Onyika Brown Jackson was born in Washington, D.C. and raised in Miami, Florida. Her parents, both graduates of HBCUs, instilled in her a love of education and a belief in the power of the law. She graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College and cum laude from Harvard Law School.
Jackson clerked for Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, served as a federal public defender — one of few Supreme Court justices with that background — and was appointed to the U.S. Sentencing Commission. She served as a federal district court judge and on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.
On April 7, 2022, the Senate confirmed Jackson to the Supreme Court in a 53-47 vote, making her the first Black woman in the Court's 233-year history. Vice President Kamala Harris, the first Black woman to hold that office, presided over the vote. The moment resonated across generations, fulfilling a promise long deferred.
"I am standing on the shoulders of generations past who never had anything close to this kind of opportunity."— Ketanji Brown Jackson
Key Milestones
A Life in Firsts
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