100 Black Male Law Deans Endorse Ketanji Brown Jackson

One-hundred Black male law deans and professors have penned a letter supporting Ketanji Brown Jackson‘s confirmation to the United States Supreme Court.

In the letter, obtained by Blavity, the professors unanimously supported Jackson’s confirmation to the High Court, which would make her the first Black female Supreme Court Justice.

“We unanimously applaud and endorse, without reservation, President Joe Biden’s nomination of Judge Jackson, who is truly one of our nation’s brightest legal minds. From Judge Jackson’s breathtaking credentials as an extraordinary jurist to her unimpeachable character and unwavering integrity, we believe that she is eminently qualified to fill this historic position,” the letter stated.

The letter also commented on Jackson’s career as a lawyer and federal public defender, saying it is “rich in depth, complexity, efficiency, and common sense. More than that, Judge Jackson’s jurisprudence is braided in fairness, compassion, and justice.”

President Joe Biden nominated Jackson for the Supreme Court last month. She is expected to receive unanimous support from Democrats, who also hold the tie-breaking vote in Vice President Kamala Harris.  However, it may not be needed. Last year, Republican Senators Lindsey Graham, Lisa Murkowski, and Susan Collins supported Jackson’s confirmation to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.

While they have not publicly supported Jackson’s confirmation to the Supreme Court, it would be surprising if Republicans unanimously voted against her confirmation.

The group that penned the letter supporting Jackson also pointed out the court’s overwhelmingly White, male majority in its history and today.

“While White men comprise roughly 30 percent of our nation’s population, they hold over 70 percent of federal judiciary positions. Further, while 108 White men have served as justices on the U.S. Supreme Court, there have only been two Black men and five women appointed to serve on the Court. Of those five women, only one has been a woman of color,” the group wrote.

“Judge Jackson is uniquely positioned to bring a historically absent perspective to the challenging and complex questions that will be presented to the Supreme Court in the years to come.”

Jackson received her law degree from Harvard Law School and was an editor of the Harvard Law Review. She has also received the endorsement of the justice she would be replacing in Stephen Breyer, whom she clerked for.