(Jewish Group) Brown Jackson brings up a Black-Jewish civil rights alliance in confirmation hearing

[Behind the Aegis]

Ketanji Brown Jackson brings up a Black-Jewish civil rights alliance in confirmation hearing

Whether he meant to or not, Republican Sen. Ted Cruz gave Ketanji Brown Jackson, President Joe Biden’s Supreme Court nominee, an opportunity for a breather in the middle of a contentious day of confirmation hearings on Tuesday.

Cruz, who spent most of his 30-minute questioning session trying to corner Jackson on issues such as critical race theory, asked what Jackson meant when she says she praises the “social justice” values that are exemplified by the private school her children attend.

In her response, Jackson said she was proud to serve as a board member — and opened up about the school’s origins as a Jewish-Black civil rights alliance.

“Georgetown Day School has a special history that I think is important to understand when you consider my service on that board,” Jackson told Cruz.

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I can't even watch the hearing because I really don't want to have to buy a new TV after launching a shoe through the screen. Reading the commentaries here are bad enough.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

1. Ketanji Brown Jackson brings up a Black-Jewish civil rights alliance in confirmation hearing

This hit home with me

Link to tweet

“Georgetown Day School has a special history that I think is important to understand when you consider my service on that board,” Jackson told Cruz.

She went on:

The school was founded in 1945 in Washington, D.C., at a time at which by law there was racial segregation in this community. Black students were not allowed in the public schools to go to school with white students. Georgetown Day School is a private school, that was created when three white families — Jewish families — got together with three Black families and said that despite the fact that the law is set up to make sure that Black children are not treated the same as everyone else, we are going to form a private school so that our children can go to school together. The idea of equality — justice — is at the core of the Georgetown Day School mission.

Georgetown Day School’s history page on its website notes that it was founded in 1945 by seven — not six — families, and that it was the first integrated school in the nation’s capital, but does not add detail.

As a former high school and college debater, this made me smile

On Monday, the first day of her testimony, Jackson credited her Jewish high school debate coach, the late Fran Berger, with instilling her with confidence and making her believe she could succeed as a lawyer. Jackson also credited Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, who is Jewish, for whom she clerked and whom she would replace.