HILLSIDE, N.J. (APRIL 4, 2022) – U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) today rallied alongside New Jersey Black and Latino community and religious leaders to show united support for the confirmation of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States. The Senate Judiciary Committee, which Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) is a member of, held confirmation hearings for Judge Jackson last month and the Committee will vote on her nomination today. The full Senate is expected to vote on her confirmation later in the week. If confirmed by the Senate, Judge Jackson would be the first Black woman to serve as a judge on the nation’s highest court. Sen. Menendez first announced his support for Judge Brown Jackson after their meeting on Thursday.

“Judge Jackson is a nominee who belongs on the highest court in the land because she knows what the law can do, what it can limit, and what it can unlock,” said Sen. Menendez. “Her exceptional credentials and even-handed record leave no reason to oppose the confirmation of one of the brightest legal minds in our country. Beyond a shadow of a doubt, she is supremely qualified to interpret our Constitution and hear cases on their merit.”

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Today’s rally was held outside of the First Baptist Church of Hillside. Sen. Menendez was joined by Mayor Dahlia Vertreese, State Senator Joe Cryan and Assemblyman Reginald Atkins (both LD-20). Representatives from the Urban League of Essex and Union counties, SEIU 32BJ, Moms Demand Action and Make the Road were also in attendance today to show support for Judge Jackson.

“I am honored to stand with Senator Menendez and Senator Booker in support of Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson. As one of the few African American female Mayors in the State of N.J., I have witnessed and experienced how critical contributions and qualifications of black women in service to our country and in their respective organizations are often overlooked,” said Mayor Vertreese. “It has been 50 years since the first black woman argued before the Supreme Court. We have to move beyond celebrating "firsts" and finally bring this long legacy of excellence, as reflected in Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court.”

“The nation has watched the confirmation hearings over the past few weeks. Ketanji Brown Jackson has proven herself to be composed, articulate and more than qualified to fill the position of our county’s first female Black Supreme Court Justice,” said Senator Cryan. “If there is any hesitancy on behalf of those looking to nominate her, it is not because of her lack of capability, but out of spite and politics games. I urge the Senate to confirm the Honorable Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court.”

"I'm honored to stand next to Senator Menendez in calling for the swift confirmation of Judge Jackson,” said Assemblyman Atkins. “Judge Jackson is more than qualified to serve on our nation's highest court and I could not be more proud to rally in support of a more accomplished black woman than her. She has my full support and I urge the entire U.S. Senate to vote for her confirmation."

"I am honored to stand with my fellow Urban League CEOs to support the historic confirmation of the Honorable Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court of the United States,” said Crystal Orr, President of the Urban League of Union County. “She is a highly qualified and experienced judge, who is more than deserving to be the first African American woman to sit on the highest court in the country."

“32BJ strongly supports the nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court. She is an incredibly qualified candidate with a unique judicial background, a high respect for civil rights, voting rights, and worker rights,” Kevin Brown, 32BJ Vice President & NJ State Director. “Her appointment also sends a clear and important message of opportunity to all Americans. We strongly urge the Senate to confirm her nomination.”

“In this history making moment, the United States Senate is poised to confirm Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to be the first Black woman on the United States Supreme Court. Judge Jackson is the Supreme Court Justice America needs. She will be the first former federal public defender on the Supreme Court. She will also be the first Justice with significant experience representing low-income people accused of crimes since the tenure of Justice Thurgood Marshall. These real-world perspectives have long been excluded from the nation’s highest court,” said Ryan P. Haygood, President & CEO of the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice. “There is also great joy in seeing us reach this milestone as a nation, and great meaning for Black women and girls who see themselves represented in this achievement despite all the forces that still stand in their way, like the ones that were on shameful display during the confirmation hearings. We look forward to United States Senate confirming Judge Jackson's nomination a third time, this time to the United States Supreme Court, without delay.”

After graduating from Harvard College and Harvard Law School with honors, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson clerked for several high profile judges, including Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, whom she has been nominated to succeed. After a tenure in private legal practice, Judge Jackson served as an Assistant Special Counsel at the United States Sentencing Commission. If confirmed, she would also make history as the first former federal public defender to serve on the Supreme Court.

In 2010, President Obama nominated Judge Jackson to serve as Vice Chair of the United States Sentencing Commission. Her work there focused on reducing unwarranted sentencing disparities and ensuring that federal sentences were just and proportionate. She has been confirmed to the federal bench twice before by bipartisan Senate majorities, to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in 2013 and then to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit last year.

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Click HERE for the original press release.

Visit our YouTube page for remarks from our Urban League of Essex County President + CEO, Vivian Cox Fraser.