On Feb. 25, 2022, President Biden nominated Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to fill retiring Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer’s position. As of March 21, Judge Jackson has begun her Supreme Court hearings, a process in which the Senate Judiciary Committee will interview Judge Jackson and her appeals for the position before the vote to confirm her to the Court takes place.

Of the 115 judges that have before served on the Supreme Court, only four have been female, and only two in all have been African American.

Judge Ketanji Brown’s confirmation would make her the first African American woman to serve on the Supreme Court, a giant leap for women empowerment and African American representation.

Recently, at Central Kitsap High School, there have been uproars over the treatment of our own African American community, and movements towards making a safer and more accepting environment for these students. With students making their voices heard to admin and their peers, a major example being the Black Lives Matter (BLM) student walkout on Feb. 13, with efforts to bring change to our community, the nation’s step towards representation is a great example for students alike at CKHS.

“As a Black woman myself, I think it would be super exciting to see [an African American female Supreme Court Judge confirmed],” says senior Madison Grant, leader of the Black Student Union. “I think our country’s due for a change.”

“Growing up, I didn’t really see a lot of Black women in higher up roles… so it’s really cool to see [Judge Jackson] get this chance,” said senior Aaliyah Chandler.

For CKHS’s African American students, seeing more representation, especially in important positions, is an exciting moment.

“It’s a leap [for representation], and not just a step forward because Black women, the Black community as a whole, have worked very hard,” said Grant.

“I really hope that the people seeing her story can relate and that it will empower them to want to use their voice too,” said Mark Keel, teacher at CKHS.

As students at CKHS fight to make their voices heard and change their environment to a safer, more accepting place, they also have made calls for a change in curriculum. While fighting against micro-aggressions and discrimination, students hope to see more representation of African American peoples within their curriculums and academic communities.

“I feel like Black students in particular go under the radar because they’re not praised as much, despite having to break through barriers that White students at our school don’t have to face,” said Grant, “putting Black figures into curriculum… because there are Black figures in every field… helps a Black kid to be able to visualize themselves in those careers. It sets a precedent.”

African American students at CKHS have voiced the trials and struggles they face in the community, and they continue to voice the changes they want to see in schools and in curriculums. They hope to open doors for future representations and to teach their histories and achievements.

“I think a big thing for the CKHS BLM walkout was asking to see more representation with teachers and in the curriculum. I think with [Judge Jackson] being implemented, she would be more notable in the curriculum.” said Grant.

Even outside of curriculum, students tend to see a discrepancy of African American administrators, and have voiced their discomfort with this.

“At CKHS we [African American] students have very, very low representation in admin and I feel like hopefully a lot of change will happen with Judge Jackson,” said Chandler. “I hope it will set an example to the school that they need better representation.”

With students striving to find more representation in school curriculum and administration, Judge Jackson’s nomination and possible confirmation takes a step towards not only African American representation, but empowerment and representation of women.

“Black women specifically have to break through barriers and misogyny, colorism, and racism to get to this point, and honestly, it’s a long time coming,” said Grant.

Society has continuously lessened and taken opportunities away from women to make way for males in their environment, and plays right along with the idea that Judge Jackson is making way for both the empowerment of women and African Americans alike.

“Not only are Black people not seen in higher positions, but women altogether aren’t seen either,” says Chandler. “And even just in regular jobs, it’s not often a woman will hold a position over a male.”

Women in society continue to fight through gender inequalities throughout positions in the workforce and traditional gender role ideals, and Judge Jackson’s step towards a new era helps forge a path for future women.

“I feel like her face and her presence in the Supreme Court opens the door for more Black female politicians to be put into executive positions,” said Grant.

“Inclusivity in the Supreme Court is always going to be a good thing, especially in politics,” said John Jenkins, senior at CKHS. “You need that kind of outside view, where she’s going to know and understand other perspectives better.”

While providing change towards the empowerment of women, Judge Jackson’s achievements also provide the means to help and inspire other under-represented African American students at CKHS and nationally.

“I know some [Black] peers of mine who are not aiming for high positions, because they’ve seen [White] faces in those positions their whole life… having a Black Supreme Court member… they would be able to see themselves,” said Grant, “it would inspire a lot of young girls, even regardless of race”.

The nomination and process of Judge Jackson’s chance at the Supreme Court brings hope for many of the African American students at CKHS, not to mention the women as well.

“It would be a win for us because you don’t see a lot of Black leaders in higher positions because we don’t even get the chance,” said Chandler.

With hopes for Judge Jackson’s confirmations, reflections on the CKHS BLM walkout brings into focus two major problems of the African American community at CKHS, and what students said they wanted to change.

“One of them is finding a better consequence for students who say the N word,” said Chandler. “The school doesn’t take into account that calling someone the N word is a hate crime, and if you wouldn’t settle for a crime outside of school, you shouldn’t accept it inside of school.”

Teachers often reprimand students for using any sort of foul language during class periods and even during lunches. With students’ consistent usage of the N word in a derogatory or racist fashion, African American students at CKHS feel no help from administrators to prevent and stop such hate crimes. Not to mention the lack of effort for any real, recent movements to educate or punish students for these issues.

“And another thing is just getting better representation [in admin]… as a student I don’t have that many staff members or people that I can go to that I feel comfortable talking to,” said Chandler. “A White teacher will never fully understand the racial differences and how I feel as a Black student because they’ve never had to live in my skin… They’ve never had to be a Black person, so they wouldn’t know.”

African American students at CKHS have voiced their plea for a move towards better representation, and hope to see Judge Jackson’s journey as an example for others to help improve and make change to better our African American communities all around.