As Americans, we expect leaders to be put in positions of power that will benefit us to the fullest extent. Supreme Court Justices are no exception.

Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson was introduced in late February 2022 and sat through a series of confirmation hearings to determine her competency as a potential Justice.

Jackson’s legal experience includes: Supreme Court clerking, public defense work, U.S. Sentencing Commission membership, serving as a District Judge and currently as a judge in the U.S. Court of Appeals. 

She would be the only person on the entire current Supreme Court with all of these qualifications, making her confirmation that much more impressive.

Despite her many years of experience in the courtroom, many senators and politicians are going to great lengths to prove her inability to act on the Court. Many viral videos demonstrate these efforts, such as  Fox news host Tucker Carlson mispronouncing her name on national television before asking about her Law School Admissions Test score.

This news clip about her LSAT score was particularly humorous because of Jackson’s placement at the top of her class at Harvard and her 8 1/2 years on the U.S. District Court.

Another example is Sen. Ted Cruz continually questioning her about a children’s book titled “Antiracist Baby.” Jackson was not the author of this book, but it remained a hot topic for Cruz. He asked her several times about it, and she answered that it was not a judge of her ability to act on the Court, nor would curriculum be part of her purview.

These two instances, while humorous to the everyday viewer, are prime examples of the treatment of Jackson. They seem absurd, and that is because they are.

In typical hearings, nominees are questioned about their knowledge of the U.S. Constitution, their prior writings, decisions or research and their education. Judge Jackson’s hearings have included some definite tests of knowledge, but overall they contain the idea that these senators and politicians try to present her as incompetent.

At The News, we believe Jackson is being subject to misogyny and implicit racism in her hearings.

As a Black woman Jackson will have to go the extra mile to prove her qualifications in comparison to a nominee like Amy Coney Barrett. Both are women; however, Barrett was confirmed very quickly and was not subject to ineffective questioning from her GOP counterparts. It appears they did not feel it was necessary to question her as harshly as they have Judge Jackson.

Although she has more education and experience than any current Justice on the Court,  Jackson is being made to appear as if she is “less than” through the impossible standards given to her. She has more than proven herself, but she is still being torn down at every opportunity by politicians trying to belittle her because they feel like they can.

We at The News also believe she has continually been asked questions that differ from those that could be considered constructive.

Jackson was interrupted and disrespected by Cruz numerous times throughout her hearing. It was obvious that he was not there to find out how much she knew about necessary legal topics, but to find out just how far he could push her.

She was asked about topics like “antiracist babies” and her definition of a woman. These topics were blatantly being used to distract her from the ultimate goal of placement on the Supreme Court.

Despite the intimidation tactics used by Cruz, Jackson is still on track to become the new justice.

Overall, Jackson has proven herself. She managed to answer the trivial questions gracefully and did not falter. She has maintained her composure and respect despite being disrespected at every turn by politicians and leaders. Her leadership ability speaks for itself and should not go unrecognized.

As followers of the American government, we have to have expectations for our leaders.  Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson is a prime example of a leader worth listening to, because she has proven that she is willing to listen. Rather than offer a legitimate concern, leaders and influential figures like Cruz and Carlson insult our intelligence with nonsense.

These hearings have shown us now more than ever that sexism and racism still persist in our country and have been allowed to show in our politicians. If we can’t put trust in our leaders to facilitate change, we will become a dying country. We certainly can’t claim to be “the greatest country in the world” if our citizens feel misrepresented and discriminated against at every turn.