New York Democrats in Congress are celebrating the confirmation of Ketanji Brown Jackson to the nation’s highest court.

“Even in the darkest times, there are bright lights,” Sen. Charles Schumer said, speaking on the Senate floor just moments before the historic vote. 

What You Need To Know

  • The U.S. Senate voted 53-47 Thursday to confirm Ketanji Brown Jackson, making her the first Black woman on the Supreme Court

  • Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer called it a "joyous" day

  • Rep. Jamaal Bowman, a former educator, said the confirmation gives a whole new group of children a new role model

Shattering a glass ceiling, the U.S. Senate voted 53-47 Thursday to make Jackson the court’s first Black woman justice. Three Republicans joined with Democrats in backing the nominee.

Inside the chamber, Brooklyn Congressman Hakeem Jeffries and other members of the Congressional Black Caucus watched as the vote was tallied, cheering at the result.

“Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks, Fannie Lou Hamer, Shirley Chisholm and the ancestors are smiling down from Heaven. Another big step in America’s march toward a more perfect union,” Jeffries said in a statement afterward.

Bronx and Westchester County Rep. Jamaal Bowman, a former educator, called the confirmation a moment to “celebrate.” He said it gives a whole new group of children a new role model.

He has his own elementary school-age daughter at home.

“You can't be what you can't see,” he said. “It opens the door for so many conversations that we need to have with our young black girls. And it's going to be happening in schools across the country, which is incredible.”

Asked about Jackson, Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez invoked the feeling she had when the Senate confirmed Justice Sonia Sotomayor more than a decade ago. A Bronx native, Sotomayor was the first Latina justice. 

“This is a moment for black women to see themselves, and a monumental step forward towards a court that is more reflective of the diversity of America,” Velazquez said.

 

 

Jackson will not change the court’s balance of power - it will still be 6-3, favoring conservatives. 

However, Rep. Mondaire Jones says she will still be able to provide perspective, especially on the realities of discrimination. And her dissents in controversial cases could have an impact in their own right. 

“We know that powerful dissents have the ability to galvanize the American people around injustices that have occurred,” Jones said.

Jackson is set to take her seat on the bench after Justice Stephen Breyer officially retires later this year.

On Friday afternoon, she will join the president and vice president in delivering remarks from the White House.