We Are the Hope and Dreams of Slaves

By Roger Caldwell

As Black Women, Women of Color, All Women, Americans, and children celebrate the appointment of Judge Ketanji Brown-Jackson to the Supreme Court, some cry, some holler, some smile and others say it is about time. The American experience is filled with unlimited possibilities, and many say the greatest country on the planet.

In the land of possibilities you must continue to dream beyond where you are today. The road will not be easy, and there will be barriers and bumps along the way, but you must believe.

President Barack Obama, the first African American and the 44^th President of the United States said, “The change we seek will take longer than one presidency. Real change – big change takes many years and requires each generation to embrace the obligations and opportunities that come with the title of citizen. True democracy is a project that is much bigger than any one of us.”

President Joe Biden walked out of the White House with two brilliant and beautiful Black women, who understand their purpose, goals, and responsibilities to their country, their gender, and their race. Our ancestors prayed and struggled for generations for when there would be a Vice-President Kamala Harris, and a Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown-Jackson, and now it is a reality.

The Republicans made it crystal clear that they would place barriers in the way, but God is on our side, along with our ancestors. Many times we forget that Black children are standing on the shoulders of their ancestors, and they refuse to let us fall.

The significance of being a slave, many times is swept under the rug with the critical race theory, but history is truth. History many times is painful, but it gives the people who were slaves an indicator of how far we have come.

After the American Revolution, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and other leaders proposed the creation of a formal unified system of public funded schools in 1780s. Our leaders believed that universal education would eliminate poverty, crime, and other social problems. After the Civil War our leaders advocated free education in 1870 as a basic right.

But many Blacks and emigrants were denied the basic right of education until the civil rights legislature was enacted in 1965. Even though the equal education opportunity laws were on the books, inferior schools and systems were a reality in Black and minority neighborhoods.

Perfecting our union will take generations, but July 23, 2009, President Obama nominated Judge Ketanji Brown-Jackson to become Vice Chair of the United States Sentencing Commission, and was confirmed by the Senate February 11, 2010.

On September 20, 2012, President Obama nominated Jackson to serve as Judge for the United States District Court for District of Columbia, and was confirmed March 22, 2013. During her time as District Court Judge, she wrote, “Presidents are not kings,” and wrote 600 opinions, and only 12 were reversed. On March 20, 2021, Judge Jackson was nominated by President Biden to sit on the District Court of Appeals, and was confirmed June 10, 2021.

As our ancestors smile, they continue to pray, to help make a better day and a better way for the first African American women on the United States Supreme Court, Ketanji Brown-Jackson, a Harvard University graduate.

“It’s hard for me to not look at you and not see my mom. Not to see my cousins, one of them who had come here and sit behind you. She had to have your back. I see my ancestors and yours. But don’t worry my sister. Don’t worry. God has got you. And how do I know that? You’re here, and I know what it’s taken for you to sit in that seat,” says Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey.