For Immediate Release
Contact: Eddie Kurtz
[email protected]
Following the U.S. Senate’s bipartisan vote to confirm Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the U.S. Supreme Court, the Democratic Party of Oregon released the following statement:
“Ketanji Brown Jackson is exceptionally well-equipped to serve as a member of the U.S. Supreme Court. She has broad experience across the legal profession and distinguished service as a federal appellate judge, a federal district court judge, a member of the U.S. Sentencing Commission, an attorney in private practice, and a federal public defender,” said Dr. Rosa Colquitt, PhD, Vice Chair of the Democratic Party of Oregon and Chair of the DPO’s Black Caucus. “It is also true that representation matters. It is long past time for the Supreme Court to reflect the demographic make-up of the United States. The presence of a Black woman on the Supreme Court is deeply meaningful to me and millions of Americans.”
“Today is a great day for Oregon and the United States. We congratulate Justice Jackson on her confirmation, applaud Justice Breyer for his honorable service to the country, and thank Senators Wyden and Merkley for their work to confirm Justice Jackson,” said Carla “KC” Hanson, Chair, Democratic Party of Oregon.
Dr. Rosa Colquitt expanded her comments with the following reflection:
“Today, April 7, 2022, on the occasion of the Senate vote to confirm the nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court, my heart overflows with great joy. My mind is flooded with three words that are pouring forth from my lips, “a promise fulfilled.” During his campaign for the presidency, Joe Biden promised to nominate a Black woman if an opening arose on the Supreme Court. Not only has his promise been fulfilled, but by today’s vote of 53 U.S. Senators, Judge Jackson becomes the 116th Associate Justice to the Supreme Court.
“On this historic day in the annals of judicial history, I pay tribute, lest we forget, to two of the trailblazing Black women judges who paved the way for Judge Jackson’s historic path to the Supreme Court. I remember and I honor the nation’s first Black female judge, Jane Matilda Bolin, who was appointed as a Domestic Relations Court judge by New York City Mayor LaGuardia, and who served with distinction from 1939 to 1978.
“Judge Bolin was credited as a role model by Constance Baker Motley, the first Black woman to be named a federal judge by President Johnson in 1966. Before that time, Judge Motley was the first Black woman to argue a case before the Supreme Court in 1961 which led to a decision ensuring that a defendant in a capital punishment case would be entitled to an attorney. And, it was Judge Motley who Ketanji Brown Jackson mentioned by name in her opening statement in the Senate confirmation hearing. Indeed, representation matters!
“It is long past time for the Supreme Court to reflect the demographic make-up of the United States. The presence of a Black woman on the Supreme Court is deeply meaningful to me and millions of Americans!”
###
