Dean Fairfax, Black Law Deans Sign Letter of Support for Ketanji Brown Jackson’s Confirmation to the Supreme Court
Washington College of Law’s Dean Roger Fairfax joined more than 30 Black law deans from across the country earlier this month in signing a letter in support of the confirmation of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The letter, which was sent to Sens. Chuck Schumer, Mitch McConnell, Dick Durbin and Chuck Grassley, calls for a quick confirmation for Judge Jackson and praises her credentials and proven track record of bipartisan support.
Her historic appointment, the deans write, “will continue the outstanding legacy of Black women jurists in this country.”
“We, the undersigned Black Law Deans, are leaders of the legal academy educating the next generation of lawyers who will serve on our courts, in our legislatures, and in other roles in our justice system … we are unified in our conviction that Judge Jackson is exceptionally well qualified and well prepared to serve on this nation’s highest Court,” the letter reads.
Dean Fairfax also penned an op-ed for Newsweek, published March 3, praising Judge Jackson’s qualifications and urging support for her nomination. Of the 115 justices who have served on the Supreme Court, 110 of them were men and five were women, he said. Judge Jackson would be the first Black woman to serve on the highest court.
“The dual barriers of racial and gender discrimination have kept so many Black women from reaching the heights to which their brilliance might have propelled them. As a result, our nation has been deprived of the full benefit of their immense talents and valuable perspectives,” Dean Fairfax wrote. “We should rejoice that the eminently qualified Judge Jackson will be the first Black woman to serve on the United States Supreme Court. We must ensure that she will not be the last.”