Biden nominates Ketanji Brown Jackson, a black judge, for the Supreme Court to better represent the US.

The president of the United States, Joe Biden, formally nominated Ketanji Brown Jackson as the first black justice of the US Supreme Court, with the aim of making that court better represent the diversity of the country’s population.

“For Too Long, (Members Of) Our Government And Our Courts Have Not Looked Like America”, Biden said during a ceremony with Jackson at the White House.

“I think it’s about time we had a court that fully reflects the talents and greatness of our nation and inspires all young people to believe that they, too, can serve their country at the highest level.”, he added.

Biden had announced a few hours earlier his decision to nominate Jackson, who is a judge on the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, to fill the vacancy that will be left in July on the Supreme Court by one of the three progressive justices on the court, Stephen Breyer.

If confirmed by the Senate, Brown Jackson will be the fifth woman and the only black woman to serve on the Supreme Court in its 232-year history, a milestone Biden promised to achieve during his election campaign.

“She cares about making sure our democracy works for the American people. She listens. She looks people in the eye, the lawyers and the accused, the victims and the families”stressed the president.

Brown Jackson, 51, later walked up to the podium to thank him for “extraordinary honor of this nomination”.

“I can only trust that my life and career, my love of this country and the Constitution, and my commitment to uphold the rule of law will inspire future generations of Americans.”, stressed the judge.

Born in Washington DC in 1970, Brown Jackson grew up in Miami inspired by her father’s passion for the law and graduated cum laude from Harvard University before pursuing a varied career that included a stint as an assistant to Breyer.

The two years she spent as a public defender for the poor would make her, if she reaches the Supreme Court, the first female court judge with that kind of experience at the federal level.

Brown Jackson was the favorite of the progressive wing of the Democrats, and on Wednesday she received the support of lawyer Ben Crump, who has represented the families of a dozen victims of police brutality and racism, including George Floyd and Breonna Taylor.