Real Life American Heroes: Ketanji Brown Jackson

Hi, SuperCaptainBraveFans! This is our latest article in our continued celebration of Black History Month about real-life African American Heroes. Today, we celebrate US lawyer and Supreme Court Justice, Ketanji Brown Jackson!

Ketanji Brown Jackson was born in Washington D.C., our nation’s capital, but was raised in Miami, Florida. As a child, she had an interest in law and leadership early on in life. Her mother was a school principal and her father was an attorney. In high school, Ketanji Brown Jackson was on the debate team and was her high school class president. She attended Harvard University where she studied law and government. Ketanji Brown Jackson was the editor of the Harvard Law Review, a very important law journal! She graduated in 1996 and married her husband, Patrick Jackson.

After college, Ketanji Brown Jackson worked as a law clerk for federal judges. She worked for Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer in 1999 and spent many days doing research about cases. As an attorney, Ketanji Brown Jackson worked as a Public Defender. A Public Defender represents people who are accused of crimes but aren’t able to pay for their own attorneys.

Ketanji Brown Jackson was selected to serve in the United States Sentencing Commission in 2010 by President Barack Obama. This governing body is in charge of making the sentences of people who commit crimes fair and just. Here, she advocated for people who had unfair and harsh sentences. Ketanji Brown Jackson was known to help everyone in the Commission find common ground and agree on rules to employ.

In 2022, Ketanji Brown Jackson was nominated by President Joe Biden to be a Justice of the Supreme Court. On June 30th, Ketanji Brown Jackson became Justice Jackson, replacing Justice Breyer as a Supreme Court Justice. The Supreme Court is the highest court in America! This court makes the decisions that every court in the country must follow. Alongside her colleagues, it is Justice Jackson’s responsibility to protect and uphold the rights and freedoms expressed in the Constitution.

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson has made American history by becoming the first Black Woman to take a seat on the high court. She is an inspirational hero who upholds the oath to defend and protect our nation and democracy by serving our country.

Thanks for reading our article about African American Hero, Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson! Join us again throughout the month of February as we continue to highlight African American Heroes for Black History Month!