Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson has been on a high-profile book tour to promote her new memoir, “Lovely One,” about her journey to the highest court in our land. The Ebell of LA and Writers Bloc recently hosted “An Evening with Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson” where she read from her book, which is already a #1 New York Times Bestseller.
An overwhelming response caused the event sponsors to add a second presentation – one in the afternoon and another in the evening. And to the audience’s surprise, she was interviewed by award-winning actress Angela Bassett, highly acclaimed for her role as the queen of Wakanda in “The Black Panther” movies.
As soon as the two ladies stepped onto the stage, the audience erupted into a standing ovation. The atmosphere was electric, and it was evident that these two women were nothing short of queens who had reached the pinnacle of their careers.
Before Bassett launched into her well-balanced questions (noting that her heart was “jumping through her chest”), the justice read an excerpt of her book. Although small in frame and girlish in appearance, her intellect and moral clarity gave attendees a clear understanding of why she was nominated to the court.
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Jackson’s selection demonstrated that she clearly understood the significance of her extraordinary nomination as she compared her ascent to the court to its dark history of racial oppression.
“Nominated by President Joe Biden four months earlier, I, the daughter of African American parents who had come of age in the segregated south during the 1950s and early 1960s, would become the 116th justice and the first Black woman to sit on the Supreme Court in its 233-year history.
“… I thought about the justices of (Justice John Marshall) Harland’s era who collectively decided in the Plessy v. Ferguson opinion that state laws mandating the separation of people by race did not violate the 14th Amendment in the Constitution so long as the separate facilities were equal.
“Harland had been the sole dissenter in the notorious 1896 case, and now here I was affixing my signature to his Bible in black fountain pen ink. Only one generation after my mother and father had experienced the spirit-crushing effects of racial segregation in housing, schooling, and transportation while growing up in Florida, their daughter was standing on the threshold of history, the embodiment of our ancestor’s dreams, ascending to a position that Justice Harland and his colleagues likely never imagined possible for someone like me.”
Although not a journalist, Bassett’s interview demonstrated the commonality of women who are high achievers. They discussed the dance of balancing their demanding jobs with their spouses and children. They found commonalities in their backgrounds as Jackson loved the arts and dramatic oratory.
“I thought she was fabulous,” said Courtney B. Vance, who gave his wife’s interviewing skills a gold star.
“It really didn’t matter what questions she asked; people were glad to see two titans up there just having a conversation. They were funny, silly, warm, and wonderful.”
Many of Bassett’s friends in Hollywood also attended the event and enjoyed the presentation.
“Seeing the justice in person was so informative and it gave you a sense of her personality,” said Anne Haley, the wife of actor-producer-director Wren Brown.
“We knew she was brilliant, but we learned that she is so approachable like she could be your best girlfriend.”
“Lovely One” by Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson is available on Amazon.com and wherever books are sold.
