Black women feel sting of 'traumatizing' Jackson hearings

Ketanji Brown Jackson
Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson testifies during her Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, March 23, 2022. The Harvard-educated Jackson is making history, the first Black woman nominated in the court's 233 years. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)

“Senator,” she said, letting out an audible sigh.

In that singular moment, Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson spoke for countless Black women who have had to gather all the patience, strength and grace within to answer insinuating questions about their credentials, qualifications and character.

It was Day One of questioning at the Senate Judiciary Committee as the Harvard-educated Jackson, the first Black woman to be nominated for the nation’s highest court, was making history.