Ketanji Brown Jackson’s Allies Were Prepared, A Black Women’s Qualifications Have Long Been Questioned
In the days and weeks leading up to the announcement that Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson would be the first Black woman nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court, the White House and groups supporting her nomination prepared for potential lines of attack.
The possibilities were fairly predictable, with many of them rooted in tropes pushed on Black women for decades: Is she even qualified for this position? Are her views too radical? Is she too angry? Does her race make her biased?
“Vicious, racist, sexist tropes have long been levied against Black women,” said Karen Finney, a Democratic strategist and member of the Black Women’s Leadership Collective, which has worked in tandem with the White House on messaging efforts around Jackson’s nomination. “These are outlandish tropes, but they’re designe...