Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson focuses on family during Fayetteville visit

U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson brought her story of the woman behind the black robes to Fayetteville on Thursday afternoon.

She appeared before more than 1,000 people in Seabrook Auditorium at Fayetteville State University with Brandon Price, CEO of Fayetteville Area Habitat for Humanity, which arranged the visit. The audience included Fayetteville State students, Campbell Law School students, local elected officials, and members of the general public.

The conversation focused on Jackson’s life, from childhood through college, to marriage, careers while raising two children, and taking a seat on the high court. It did not touch on matters before the Supreme Court or ongoing political controversies, although Jackson said her job is demanding with “the current state of affairs.”

Jackson, 54, is the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court. She is one of three Democrat-appointed justices on the nine-member bench.

Her story begins with her family, Jackson said, and she wrote her bestselling 2024 memoir, Lovely One, “to pay tribute to the people and the circumstances that I believe are most responsible for helping me get to the position that I’m in.”

She recalled growing up in Florida, where her mother was a middle school biology teacher and her father went to law school. Jackson and her father sat at the kitchen table, she with her coloring book, he with his law books, “so I never thought of doing anything other than going to law school,” she said.

Then she saw in Ebony magazine that she shared her birthday with Constance Baker Motley, the first Black woman to become a federal judge.

“And that, for me, began this eye-opening experience of, ‘I could not only be a lawyer, I could be a judge,’” Jackson said.

Jackson’s parents had high expectations. They wanted her to do the things they didn’t have the opportunities to do when they were growing up during segregation, she said. They sent her to swimming and piano lessons, and they entered her into public speaking competitions and programs.

“It was a part of this entire emphasis on being proud of who I am as an African American in this country,” Jackson said. “I think that mentality is what has carried me through my entire career, believing that I could do anything I wanted. To include: Serve on the Supreme Court.”

Jackson visited Harvard University three times for high school public speaking competitions, which led her to go to college there. At Harvard, she met her husband, Patrick, a fellow student who is now a surgeon. The most crucial ingredient for their relationship and career successes has been their true partnership, she said.

Both made sacrifices to support each other and raise their two daughters.

Jackson said she worked a job she didn’t really want to pay the bills while her husband started his surgical residency. Then he paused his training for two years while she worked long hours as a Supreme Court clerk for Associate Justice Stephen Breyer.

When the Biden administration asked her in 2022 if she would like to be considered for the Supreme Court, she and her husband discussed it with their daughters, Talia and Leila, who were in high school. Talia has autism.

Private family members could be made public, Jackson told them. “I won’t do it if this is something that you’re not comfortable with,” she said.

Both girls were very supportive, she said.

Senior reporter Paul Woolverton can be reached at pwoolverton@cityviewnc.com.

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