As President Biden’s Supreme Court nominee, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, moves through the confirmation process, we reflect on the reasons it has taken over two centuries to break this particular glass ceiling.

The politics of Supreme Court nominations limits prospective nominees to a privileged few in American jurisprudence. Of 115 justices to date, five have been women, all appointed in the past 40 years. Two Justices have been African American; one Latina; none have been Indigenous or Asian.

Similarly, the Court has been predominantly Christian, heavily Protestant until recently, with only eight Jewish justices, one agnostic, and no other major religions with any representation at all. Likewise, educational and professional backgrounds of the Justices have been remarkably similar over the centuries, heavily weighted toward prosecutors, with the last sitting Justice carrying a background as a defense attorney being 25 years ago.

Why should we care about diversity on the Supreme Court? Background and experience inform perception and biases through which policies are analyzed, dismantled, and upheld. Any deliberative body is made stronger by a range of backgrounds, experience, and informed opinions.

Progressive Democrats of America fully supports the nomination and confirmation of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the U.S. Supreme Court. We work seven days a week, 365 days a year, to level the playing field for all Americans and bring diverse voices together in service of justice and peace.

Please help us carry on our campaigns with a monthly donation of $27, $12, $5, or $2.70. We work together toward mutual progressive goals.