Feature photo: President Joe Biden and Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson watch together as the U.S. Senate votes to confirm her to be the first Black woman to be a justice on the Supreme Court in the Roosevelt Room at the White House on April 7. Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
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By Clyde Hughes | AC JosepH Media
ATLANTIC CITY – New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker and Sen. Bob Menendez led the celebration in the historic confirmation of Appeals Court Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday.
The Senate confirmed Brown's nomination 53-47 on Thursday, making her the first African American woman to serve on the nation's highest court. Thurgood Marshall was the first Black to sit on the Supreme Court, serving from 1967 to 1991. Conservative Justice Clarence Thomas was picked to replace him in 1991.
"Like many Americans, I feel immense pride and so much joy at this historic occasion," Booker said in a statement Thursday. "As Judge Jackson ascends to the United States Supreme Court, I see in her the affirmation of our ancestors who suffered the indignities of this country yet sacrificed to bend the moral arc of our nation towards justice.
Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) speaks during a Senate Judiciary Committee business meeting to vote on Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson on Capitol Hill, April 4, 2022 in Washington, DC. A confirmation vote from the full Senate will come later this week. Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
"They knew that America, though haunted by its past failings, was not bound by them and believed that a day like this would eventually arrive. Her sterling credentials have earned her broad support and this will be the fourth time that the United States Senate will confirm her to a role she was nominated for in a bipartisan manner," Booker added.
On Monday, Menendez rallied with members of the Black and Latino communities outside of the First Baptist Church of Hillside in Hillside, N.J. in favor of Jackson's confirmation.
"Judge Jackson is a nominee who belongs on the highest court in the land because she knows what the law can do, what it can limit, and what it can unlock," Menendez said in his own statement on Monday.
WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 31: (L-R) Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) meets with Supreme Court Nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson on Capitol Hill March 31, 2022 in Washington, DC. Judge Jackson continues to meet with Senate members on Capitol Hill ahead of her confirmation vote. Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images
On Thursday, Menendez added: "With our vote today to confirm Ketanji Brown Jackson as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, not only has the U.S. Senate made history, it has also witnessed — in real time — the bending of the moral arc of the universe towards justice and proved to women and girls everywhere that they too can be one of the nine guardians entrusted by the Constitution to ensure equal justice under law for all people."
It was Booker who gave an impassioned speech last month during Jackson's confirmation hearing in her favor that left many around the country and even the future Supreme Court justice teary eyed.
Others in New Jersey celebrated the historic nomination. U.S. Rep. Andy Kim, D-N.J., shared his feelings on social media.
"A glass ceiling was broken today by Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson. Congratulations to our newest confirmed Supreme Court Associate Justice," Kim said on Twitter. "I look forward to following her work as she guides our country towards a more equal, fair, and just future for all."
U.S. Rep. Donald Norcross added: "History made! Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson has made history as the first Black woman confirmed to the U.S. Supreme Court."
"There is great joy in seeing America reach this milestone – and great meaning for Black women and girls who see themselves represented in Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson despite all the forces that still stand in their way," said the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice on Twitter.
U.S. Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, praised the vote.
"Today is a moment of historic consequence," Beatty said in a statement. "Her judicial temperament and keen legal skills will make her a Justice, of which all America proud. As she makes history today, she stands on the shoulders of the Black female trailblazers who came before her. And today, we sent a message to Black women and little girls, like my granddaughter Leah. Anything is possible. This is our power and our message."
QUESTION: What impact do you think Ketanji Brown Jackson will have on the Supreme Court? As a role model in general? Answer in the Discussion section below.
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