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U.S. NEWS Dialuna 28 Maart 2022

Black women feel sting of ‘traumatizing’ Jackson hearings

(AP) — “Senator,” she
said, letting out an audible But alone before the panel,
sigh. Jackson had difficulty con-
vincing the Republican sena-
In that singular moment, Su- tors as she worked to explain
preme Court nominee Ket- the rules judges adhere to and
anji Brown Jackson spoke for the nuances of the wrench-
countless Black women who ing cases they face. The GOP
have had to gather all the senators rarely accepted the
patience, strength and grace judge’s answers and inter-
within to answer insinuating jected or just ignored her ex-
questions about their creden- planations altogether.
tials, qualifications and char-
acter. At one point, Jackson simply
stopped answering: “Sena-
It was Day One of question- tor,” she said to Cruz, “I’ve
ing at the Senate Judiciary said what I’m going to say
Committee as the Harvard- about these cases. No one
educated Jackson, the first case can stand in for a judge’s
Black woman to be nomi- entire record.”
nated for the nation’s highest
court, was making history. By Thursday, as the hearings
concluded, Republican lead-
The federal judge had to en- ers in the Senate were using
dure hours of public scrutiny the issue — and her refusal
from skeptics, namely the to repeat earlier answers — as
Republican senators who are justification for opposing her
erecting a wall of opposition confirmation.
to her landmark nomination, bring this Black woman back to the streets? ... Is it “She should not have had to
the first in the court’s 233- down because she’s about to your personal hidden agenda endure what she endured,” Throughout the four days
year history, and may vote en break the glass ceiling that, to incorporate critical race Turner told the AP. “The of testimony, Black women
bloc against her confirma- once broken, opens the door theory into our legal system?” Democratic senators should filled many of the seats in
tion. to more.” have used their authority and the committee room. Those
These senators insisted their positioning to show the req- women included some of the
“It was really traumatiz- Democrats praise President questions were not about uisite outrage necessary for leading civil rights figures and
ing to watch,” said Melanie Joe Biden’s choice of Jackson race. In fact, Graham opened that moment.” members of the Congressio-
L. Campbell, president and as long overdue, a chance to with a warning that the ques- nal Black Caucus, which ran
CEO of the National Coali- start making the court more tioners would be framed as Overall, during her time its own “war room” to back
tion on Black Civic Partici- reflective of the diverse na- racist. “We’re all racists if we on the district court bench, up Jackson’s nomination.
pation and convener of the tion it serves. But they have ask hard questions. It’s not Jackson presided over 14 to-
Black Women’s Roundtable. been slow to bolster the going to fly with us.” tal cases of child sexual abuse, LaTosha Brown, cofounder
judge’s nomination against interstate travel for child sex- of the group Black Voters
From questioning of Jack- the unrelenting attacks and Yet Republicans ignored anal- ual abuse and child pornog- Matter, said she had received
son’s view of books on criti- instead allowed them to lin- ysis that shows Jackson’s sen- raphy. numerous text messages
cal race theory that drew her ger. tencing record on such cases from Black women who were
exasperated sigh — “They is on track with other judges The American Bar Associa- both outraged by Jackson’s
don’t come up in my work Over and over during her appointed by both Demo- tion’s standing committee on treatment from senators and
as a judge,” she said — to hearings, Republican Sens. crats and Republican presi- the federal judiciary said in heartened by her clear deter-
the loaded suggestion that Ted Cruz of Texas, Lindsey dents, and that in some cases its survey of some 250 judg- mination to endure the pro-
the sentences she imposed Graham of South Carolina she went beyond recommen- es, attorneys and academics cess.
on child pornography defen- and Josh Hawley of Mis- dations to come down harder that words such as “brilliant,”
dants were too lenient, the souri hammered Jackson on on defendants. “beyond reproach,” “fair” “I just got texts that said,
questions from the Republi- a handful of the many cases were used to describe Jack- ‘Persevere.’”
cans tapped into long-stand- she handled as a judge, ask- “What I regret,” Jackson told son, who earned the panel’s
ing American grievances over ing if she regretted having a the senators, “is that in the highest rating. It was a reference to Jack-
race, class and public safety. record that, in their view, is hearing about my qualifica- son’s own words of advice
soft on child pornography tions to be a justice on the “They uniformly rejected any delivered at the hearing to
The insinuations that Jack- defendants. Supreme Court, we’ve spent accusations of bias,” said Jean young people who may have
son, a distinguished jurist a lot of time focusing on this Veta of the ABA committee. watched what the nominee
and mother of two, is a secret No matter how many times small subset of my sentenc- endured and felt discouraged.
radical liberal or poses a dan- Jackson asserted, for exam- es.” In a letter to the Senate com-
ger to the safety of children ple, that the child pornogra- mittee, Fred Bowman, a “Black people in America,”
felt to some supporters as yet phy cases were some of “the For many supporters of University of Missouri law Brown said, “if we don’t
another example of highly most difficult” of her career Jackson, the Republicans’ professor and former federal know anything else, we know
qualified Black women hav- or tried to explain the par- cherry-picking of her record prosecutor, spoke of his dis- what that word means.”
ing to endure indignities ticulars of the law, the GOP tarnished a momentous oc- may at the thought Jackson
and distortions of their cre- senators talked over her, past casion. was somehow “soft” on these
dentials, even as they shatter her and pushed onward in crimes. His letter was signed
racial barriers in American their attempt to portray the Nina Turner, a former Ohio by other experts in the field.
society. nominee as they wished. state senator who was a
prominent surrogate for Sen. White House deputy press
Campbell told The Associ- “I can only wonder what’s Bernie Sanders’ 2020 Demo- secretary Andrew Bates
ated Press that “the othering your hidden agenda,” asked cratic presidential campaign, blasted the Republican line
of her, in a sense, like she’s Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R- criticized Democratic mem- of questioning as an “embar-
against our children,” seemed Tenn., pointing to one of the bers on the committee for rassing conspiracy theory”
like a tired political tactic. judge’s earlier writings. “Is it not defending Jackson more that “has been conclusively
to let violent criminals, cop vigorously. debunked by fact check after
“My spirit feels it was to killers and child predators fact check.”