Harbinger of Hope: Ketanji Brown Jackson
A much needed ray of light finally came through, naturally, from the only Black senator in Ketanji Brown Jackson’s intense senate confirmation hearing.
Cory Booker moved the room (and anyone with a heart) to tears at the end of a long, contentious, circus of a day (or three)…
We pieced together moments of his speech to share with you, to finish this week on a high note.
We hope the republicans are ashamed of their treatment of such an impeccable judge, but since self reflection seems a skill lacking in many of that population, we at least can come back to gratitude for the bravery and brilliance of Booker, Brown Jackson and all the other amazing Black Americans that work so hard to love a country that often “does not love them back.”
We hope the rest of this process is swift and that soon we can officially celebrate Supreme Court Justice Brown Jackson:
"You did not get there because of some left-wing agenda. You didn't get here because of some 'dark money' groups," the New Jersey Democrat told Jackson, referencing some of the Republican attacks on Jackson. "You got here how every Black woman in America who's gotten anywhere has done, by being, like Ginger Rogers said, 'I did everything Fred Astaire did but backwards in heels.”
"I want to tell you, when I look at you, this is why I get emotional," he added. "I'm sorry, you're a person that is so much more than your race and gender. You're a Christian. You're a mom. It's hard for me not to look at you and not see my mom… I see my ancestors and yours."
"You faced insults here that were shocking to me — well, actually not shocking," he said. "But you are here because of that kind of love, and nobody is taking that away from me."
"It's not gonna stop, they're gonna accuse you of this and that," Booker told Jackson, "But don't worry, my sister, don't worry. God has got you. And how do I know that? Because you're here and I know what it has taken for you to sit in that seat."
Booker said his GOP colleagues' criticism of Jackson would not "steal my joy," adding: "Nobody is taking this away from me."
"You have earned this spot. You are worthy. You are a great American," he noted as Jackson wiped her tears with a tissue.
He also invoked Harriet Tubman, an abolitionist who was instrumental in the Underground Railroad.
"She was viciously beaten," Booker said of Tubman. "She faced starvation, she was chased by dogs, and when she got to freedom what did she do? Rest? No, she went back again, and again, and again. The sky was full of stars, but she found one that was a harbinger of hope for better days, not just for her and those people that were enslaved, but a harbinger of hope for this country."
Booker said he has thought about Tubman as Jackson's nomination is considered before the committee.
"I thought about her and how she looked up," he told Jackson, who was seated just a few feet in front of him. "She kept looking up no matter what they did to her she never stopped looking up. And that star, it was a harbinger of hope. Today, you are my star. You are my harbinger of hope."
Earlier on, Booker brushed off his shoulder. Jay-Z famously rapped about brushing dirt off your shoulders, which President Barack Obama himself referenced during his historic 2008 presidential run. Booker told Jackson not to worry about the attacks she's sustained. He added that senators could theoretically yell, "Beyonce can't sing," but the very utterance of such a claim would not make it true.
"This country gets better and better and better," Booker said. "When that final vote happens, and you ascend onto the highest court in the land, I'm going to rejoice. And I'm going to tell you right now, the greatest country in the world, the United States of America, will be better because of you."
(https://www.businessinsider.com/watch-cory-booker-moves-ketanji-brown-jackson-to-tears-in-contentious-hearing-2022-3)
