Written by Mary Kingston Roche
Thursday, April 7th, 2022

The Institute for Educational Leadership celebrates the confirmation of Hon. Ketanji Brown Jackson to the United States Supreme Court following the Senate’s affirmative vote today. Hon. Brown Jackson is the first Black woman to be nominated and appointed to serve as a Supreme Court Justice in our nation’s history.  

“The Honorable Ketanji Brown Jackson is an exceptional person and judge, and we honor her historic confirmation as the first Black woman to serve on the United States Supreme Court” states IEL President Eddie Koen.  

Hon. Brown Jackson’s confirmation is another milestone in our nation’s progress toward racial justice, which is “the systematic fair treatment of people of all races that results in equitable opportunities and outcomes for everyone” (from the Annie E. Casey Foundation website). While we celebrate this milestone, we also acknowledge the many ways our country-and our systems of government, in particular-are falling short when it comes to racial justice, whether it is through exclusionary discipline practices in schools, mass incarceration, racial profiling in policing, and other ways. 

In partnership with the thousands of leaders and hundreds of communities we work with across the country, IEL congratulates Hon. Ketanji Brown Jackson and her family and encourages all of us to apply this historic milestone as an opportunity to motivate one another to continue our collective pursuit of racial justice each day in ways big and small.