When Ketanji Brown Jackson was confirmed to the United States Supreme Court she created hope for the American people, especially Black girls with dreams of blazing a trail for those to come after them. Her nomination has actualized the portrayal of an America that the American people have been dying to see happen since the time of Harriet Tubman. After more than 50 years, the Supreme Court reversed the constitutional right to control their own bodies. Ever since the appointment of 3 far-right conservative justices by then President Donald Trump, the court proceeded in the following years to upend decades of historical precedent and reverse Constitutional protections that women and minorities enjoyed for decades. 

The year Ketanji was confirmed, Supreme Court Justices were granted increased security and protection due to a surge in death threats, stalking and protests outside of their personal residences. Everything from women's reproductive rights, to the reversal of gun control legislation that greatly expanded the ability of people to carry concealed firearms, and even matters of religious freedom, the Supreme Court handed down one ruling after another that violated everything that progressive civil rights pioneers fought to secure over generations. The social and political landscape in the United States was never more divided, and tensions were at a fever pitch with mass unrest, rioting and looting. 

So what impact can Justice Jackson have on this court? With six conservative justices and only three liberals, she will not hold the power to single handedly overturn a ruling, but she will have the ability to moderate, persuade and defend liberal ideals while advocating for a balanced approach, just as she has done many times before. President Joe Biden considered several highly qualified judges in the federal appeals courts, but in the end chose Ketanji to become “Justice Jackson”.