KBJ the latest sign of a changing world for black women

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Somewhere, Shirley Chisolm can’t contain his broad smile. And maybe she’s joined by Barbara Jordanand maybe even Harriet Tubman.

The list of historical (recognized) women of color is unfortunately not as long as it should be, but this fact is now changing at quite a remarkable rate. We could even speak of a tipping point.

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson been confirmed Thursday as the first black woman to serve on the Supreme Court. Those don’t want to celebrate this moment, and those who dismiss it as an overly aggressive focus on identity politics, are also flaunting their own very limited sensitivity and awareness.

The highest court in the land is now presenting, for the first time, a black woman. And with that, something he never had presented in his deliberations: the thoughts and perspective of the American experience seen through the eyes of a black woman.

While she deserves all the praise her due, and we might be tempted to congratulate ourselves on this moment, it’s a pretty stunning indictment that it’s not until 2022 that a black woman judge reached the highest ranks. .

The thing is, Judge Jackson’s rise isn’t just about her. It’s also perfectly emblematic, at least in my estimation, of a new era of powerful black women not only being allowed on the biggest stages, but being given the limelight.

Check out the cable news channels. There is a preponderance of black women hosting or regularly appearing on the dial. Joy Reid and Tiffany Cross at MSNBC, Harris Faulkner at Fox News, Sara Sidner, Laura Coatesand now Cornish audience at CNN.

And this influence is not limited to who is in front of the camera. Rashida Jones chairs MSNBC. Kim Godvin chairs ABC News. Both are the first black women to oversee cable television and TV stations respectively.

Nikole Hannah Jones deserves inclusion for his award-winning 1619 project, which forced us to look at US history in a very different way. You can see a tremendous example of his influence in a recent interview with Chris Wallace it was spirited at times, but always a respectful and enlightening exchange of ideas.

Let’s not forget perhaps the most influential harbinger of this new era: michelle obama. The former First Lady has been named most admired woman in the world from 2018 to 2020 (this was not requested in 2021.) And of course, Vice President Kamala Harris cannot be ruled out for its role in the story.

Not so long ago, the most visible women of color in politics were Gwen Ifill and Condoleeza Rice. I forget many voices, but the point is this: how different it is today, and we are all better for it.

So, aside from the historic nature of Justice Jackson’s appointment, why is it so important and worth commemorating? Because forever in American society, black women have been at the lowest rung of social status and mobility. There are many sets of Data that demonstrate details, but things get better. And regularly seeing and hearing black women’s perspectives in the political media should only bring more equality.

Finally, nearly 250 years after this great nation was founded, the perspective of black women is a feature, not a bug. It was time.

This is an opinion piece. The opinions expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author.