WATCH: Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson tears up, as Sen. Booker says she’s earned her historic Supreme Court nomination (video & article excerpt)...

PBS NewsHour, March 23, 2022

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson wiped away tears as Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., delivered a passionate speech on how she earned her spot to become the first Black woman nominated to the Supreme Court. “You are worthy. You are a great American,” he told Jackson. In lieu of asking questions, Booker later told Jackson that “I know what it’s taken for you to sit in that seat.”

As the Senate Judiciary Committee continued its Supreme Court confirmation hearings March 23, Booker also railed against GOP senators pulling out specific cases from Jackson’s past and said it would not steal his joy.

The senator referenced abolitionist Harriet Tubman and Constance Baker Motley, the first Black woman to serve as a federal judge in 1966, as role models in his life and who paved the way for Jackson’s historic path.

“Today, you’re my star. You are my harbinger of hope,” Booker told Jackson.

Wednesday was senators’ final day to question Jackson, who was nominated by President Joe Biden in February to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer. If confirmed, she will be the first Black woman on the high court. On the final day of the hearings March 24, the Senate Judiciary Committee will hear from friends and colleagues of Jackson about her temperament and approach to the law. **** Edited by Azizi Powell This pancocojams post showcases a YouTube video of the remarks that Senator Cory Booker (New Jersey) made on March 23, 2022 at the United States Senate Judiciary Committee hearing for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson's Supreme Court nomination. Both Judge Jackson and Senator Booker are African American. The content of this post is presented for historical and educational purposes. All copyrights remain with their owners. Thanks to Senator Booker and Judge Brown Jackson for their accomplishments and their positive role modeling. **** ARTICLE EXCERPT From https://news.yahoo.com/booker-brings-jackson-to-tears-with-impassioned-speech-you-are-my-star-231627224.html Booker brings Jackson to tears with impassioned speech: 'You're my star' by Tom LoBianco, Wed, March 23, 2022, 7:16 PM
"Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., brought Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson to tears Wednesday with an impassioned speech hearkening to the plight of Black Americans and the efforts of their forebears that led Booker and Jackson to be sitting together in the same Senate hearing room.

 “It’s hard for me not to look at you and not see my mom. Not to see my cousins, one of them who had to come here and sit behind you. She had to have your back. I see my ancestors and yours,” Booker said. “But don’t worry, my sister. Don’t worry. God has got you. And how do I know that? You’re here, and I know what it’s taken for you to sit in that seat.

“You have earned this spot,” Booker said. “You are worthy. You are a great American.”

[...]

The fourth Black person elected to the U.S. Senate, Booker recalled that when he first arrived in the Capitol a decade ago, some Black members of the cleaning staff would hug him after hours and thank him.

At various points during Booker’s presentation, Jackson, who spent much of the last two days fending off attempts by Republican senators to derail her historic nomination to the high court, reached across the witness table in the room and pulled a tissue from the pack and dabbed her eyes.

Throughout his monologue, Booker cited the Black men and women who had helped pave a path for Jackson and himself. He talked about how the abolitionist Harriet Tubman was beaten before she escaped slavery, then went back to save other slaves, establishing a network of safe houses. Tubman, Booker said, would gaze at the night sky looking for a star that was a “harbinger of hope.”

“I thought about her. And how she looked up, she kept looking up no matter what they did to her she never stopped looking up. And that star was a harbinger of hope,” Booker said. “Today, you’re my star. You are my harbinger of hope. This country’s getting better and better and better. And when that final vote happens, and you ascend on to the highest court in the land, I’m going to rejoice.” "...
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