Asian Fortune Your source for all things Asian American
By Jennie L. Ilustre
Asian American leaders are rejoicing over the significance of having the first Black woman to serve on the nation’s highest court.
The 100-member US Senate voted 53-47 to confirm Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson as Justice of the Supreme Court. Republican Senators Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine, and Mitt Romney of Utah joined Democrats on April 7 in voting for Jackson, a judge on the US Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.
In January, Justice Stephen Breyer announced his retirement in June or July. This gave President Biden the opportunity to nominate a Black woman to the Supreme Court, fulfilling a campaign promise.
Judge Jackson, 51, replaces Justice Breyer, with whom she clerked in her extraordinary career. When she assumes office in summer, she would be the second woman of color and the third Black Justice to serve in the Supreme Court.
After making history, confirmed Justice Jackson is poised to make a difference. Here are 5 reasons she will have an impact on the nation, including on the Asian American and Pacific Islander community.
- Jackson’s wide experience…‘arrives at a critical time, when the basic rights of communities of color, including Southeast Asian American communities, are being decided.’
Quyen Đinh, Executive Director of the Southeast Asia Resource Action Center (SEARAC), noted Judge Jackson’s “wide breadth of experience and knowledge arrives at a critical time, when the basic rights of communities of color, including Southeast Asian American communities, are being decided.”
Dinh expressed the hope that ”this bright moment be but one stepping stone on the path to a more inclusive and equitable justice system that reflects the diversity of the communities it serves.”
SEARAC is a national civil rights organization that empowers Cambodian, Laotian, and Vietnamese American communities to create a socially just and equitable society.
- Jackson can make a big difference with her unique background and her dissenting opinions.
As a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, US Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) took part in the hearings and the historic vote.
She pointed out that Justice Jackson can make a big difference in the Supreme Court. Reason: She has the unique background, experience, brilliance and the temperament suited for the august position.
“She is the first Justice nominee to have a background as a public defender, and we haven’t had anyone with that kind of background since Thurgood Marshall,” Senator Hirono noted.
She added: “It’s really important that our justices have a range of experiences, and again in her case, she clerked for three judges including Justice Breyer,” who she will replace.
“She has been a public defender, she has experience in private practice,” the senator said. “You know, this is my fourth Supreme Court hearing, and I conclude that she is truly the most well-prepared, the most fair-minded, even-handed person to be nominated.”
Justice Jackson would not change the ideological nature of the Supreme Court (6 conservatives and 3 liberals). But an analysis by Politico newspaper’s Brakkton Booker noted “her presence will represent a tectonic shift for the Supreme Court in other ways.”
As the first Black woman and first former public defender on the Supreme Court, Booker wrote, she will bring “a new perspective to judicial opinions,” adding that legal minds suggest it could even influence her colleagues.
Even if she doesn’t affect the Supreme Court’s final decisions, “her dissents may influence future cases or with other branches” of the government, Booker added. The late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg’s dissent in 2007 led to Congress passing the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009.
Senator Hirono praised Judge Jackson’s performance in the hearings.“ She said: “I think she did great. She showed us the kind of judicial temperament that we need in anyone who is a Supreme Court Justice. Under repeated, as far as I’m concerned, attacks over and over, and harassment from some of my Republican colleagues – she kept her composure, she responded over and over in a very patient way.”
- Diversity is critical ‘to the well-being of a democracy.’
“Diversity in racial and gender background in leadership is critical to the well-being of a democracy,” Madalene Mielke, president & CEO of Asian Pacific American Institute of Congressional Studies, and Glynda Carr, president & CEO of Higher Heights, said in an opinion piece sent in an email.
“There are complexities and nuances that can only be understood through life experiences. The lens that women of color bring – particularly as complex issues surrounding race are deliberated – is invaluable to the creation, preservation and upholding of laws in our nation.
“Representation is not a buzzword, but a lived experience for us. When leaders in our country look like us, they tell our story. What was once a dream becomes a tangible reality for our children, and ourselves. Most importantly, representation means that our priorities, our concerns and our votes have meaning and power.”
- Jackson’s historic confirmation can open the door for an Asian American to be a Justice in the Supreme Court.
Brendan Flores, President and Chairman of the National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA), views Jackson’s confirmation as an opportunity for Asian Americans.
He said in an email: “We are greatly encouraged by this historic confirmation and have hope that in the future, a member of the Asian American community may also join the Supreme Court. Asian American and Pacific Islanders are the fastest-growing ethnic group in the nation and are expected to surpass 46 million by 2060, accounting for 7% of the nation’s population.
National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) Acting President A.B. Cruz III noted the big gap in the judiciary. He said in an email: “Notably, women and persons of color, including Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders, continue to be underrepresented on our courts.”
Cruz added: “NAPABA congratulates Judge Jackson on her historic confirmation to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court. A brilliant legal scholar and consensus builder, Judge Jackson brings a diverse legal perspective to the Court. We thank President Biden for his commitment to diversifying our judiciary.”
- Jackson’s confirmation ‘will inspire generations of young girls.’
Lawyer Irene Bueno, Principal Partner of NV Group, LLC based in the nation’s capital, said she was “so thrilled” over the confirmation of Kentaji Brown Jackson, which she called “historic and long overdue.”
She said in an email, “Judge Jackson’s confirmation will inspire generations of young girls that regardless of their background, they can aspire and strive to an appointment on the highest Court in the land,”
“Kentaji Brown Jackson has had an exemplary legal career and is more than qualified to be a US Supreme Court Justice,” she noted.
To be sure, Judge Jackson’s historic confirmation to the US Supreme Court has a ripple effect on all those who face an uphill battle in achieving their goals by reason of their color, gender or creed. She is an inspiration for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders – and indeed, for anyone who believes that against all odds, dreams do come true.
