President Joe Biden has nominated Ketanji Brown Jackson to the United States Supreme Court to replace the retiring Stephen Breyer. If confirmed, she will be the first Black woman to sit upon the Supreme Court. This makes a mark on history and provides much-needed diversity in the highest court.
This is exciting news for people of color and women across the nation as more representation for them is being brought into a historically white male institution.
According to the Center for American Progress, today more than 73% of sitting federal judges are men and 80% are white.
Adding Jackson to the court holds extreme value to the judiciary as her perspective of being a woman of color broadens the views of the Court and allows more issues to be addressed.
A study from the Brennan Center for Justice, “What Research Shows About the Importance of Supreme Court Diversity,” has documented that female judges are more likely to identify incidents of gender bias in the courtroom and intervene. And that when a person of color sits on a panel, their male or white colleagues were more likely to side with plaintiffs in civil rights cases.
This is a step in the right direction to prevent many of these issues from being swept under the rug by the white male majority.
Issues such as gender bias and civil rights cases will hopefully be more recognized in the courtroom with Jackson now present rather than her not being there.
If Jackson is confirmed, the Supreme Court will more fully reflect the diversity of the country and with that provide necessary perspective to the highest court of the nation.
Unsigned editorials represent the opinion of the Campus Times Editorial Board.
