7 Current events
Red & Black
19 February 2022
Biden to Elect Black, Female Supreme Court Justice
Courtesy Kevin Lamarque through Getty Images
U.S Supreme Court building at dusk.
Lekhya Kollu Contributing Writer
On Jan. 28, a letter from over 100 influential Black women was delivered to the White House, thanking President Biden for his commitment to nominating a Black female justice to the Supreme Court. This justice, who will be nominated to replace the retiring Justice Stephen Breyer, will be the first Black woman to ever be nominated and appointed to the Supreme Court. “The person I will nominate will be someone with extraordinary qualifications, character, experience and integrity. And that person will be the first Black woman ever nominated to the United States Supreme Court,” Biden promised on Jan. 27. “It’s long overdue in my view. I made that commitment during the campaign for President, and I will keep that commitment.”
Biden first committed to nominating a Black female justice to the Supreme Court during his presidential campaign in South Carolina, a move which secured him key endorsements from the state. The letter also promised the writers’ support for the eventual nominee during the confirmation process, which is expected to be harder than ever. In the years since Justice Breyer’s confirmation, four of the seven justices that have been confirmed did so with less than 60 percent of the Senate’s support. In Oct. 2020, the most recent justice to be confirmed, Amy Coney Barrett, received zero Democratic votes supporting her confirmation. With the current Senate being ideologically split in half and with some Republicans already suggesting that the nominee is just a “beneficiary” of affirmative action, not a single vote can be spared for Biden’s pick. Some women rumored to be on Biden’s shortlist for nomination include South Carolina US District Judge J. Michelle Childs, DC Circuit Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, California Supreme Court Justice
Leondra Kruger and civil rights attorney Sherrilyn Ifill. Biden promised to officially announce his nominee by the end of February, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer hopes for the confirmation hearings to proceed
quickly. Those writing to Biden agreed: “We are urging the U.S. Senate to fulfill its constitutional responsibility by swiftly holding the hearings and bringing your nominee, once announced, to the floor for a confirmation vote,” the letter said.
Courtesy Kevin Lamarque through Getty Images
District of Columbia U.S. Circuit Judge nominee, Ketanji Brown Jackson, testifies before a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing regarding pending judicial nominations on Capital Hill.
