This is America: Ketanji Brown Jackson is more than her race and gender

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson is on the cusp of making history this year. If she is confirmed to the Supreme Court, she will be the first Black woman and the first former federal public defender to serve on the nation's highest court.

We’ve been covering the nomination process since President Joe Biden announced he would select a Black woman to the Supreme Court to replace retiring Associate Justice Stephen Breyer. (BTW you should follow our Supreme Court reporter John Fritze for all the details.)

By fulfilling his 2020 campaign promise to nominate a Black woman, Biden is appealing to a voting bloc that is crucial to Democrats in the midterm elections.

Jackson survived aggressive questioning from some Republican senators on the Judiciary Committee this week, who accused her of being soft on crime and being a liberal activist judge. But it was moments such as New Jersey Democratic Sen. Cory Booker defending Jackson that resonated not just with Jackson, but with the nation.

I’m Mabinty Quarshie, national political reporter for USA TODAY. Welcome to this week’s “This Is America” newsletter centered on race and identity and how they shape our lives.

But first: race and justice news we're reading this week

• 'The bottom fell out’: For years, Latino college enrollment was on the rise. Then came the pandemic.

• Ketanji Brown Jackson's comments on motherhood, her husband's tears and what they mean for a historic moment

• 'People ought to get used to seeing us': More Black women are running for office

• Amid protests, calls for apology, Prince William expresses 'sorrow' for slavery

• Voting rights in the USA: Inside a pivotal year for changes to American elections

• Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson and Jackie Robinson have commonality: Calmness in face of racism | Opinion

Black lawmakers defend Jackson from attacks

In one of the most powerful moments of the hearings Wednesday, Booker, the only Black member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, gave a passionate defense of Jackson, highlighting her credentials.

“You have earned this spot. You are worthy. You are a great American," Booker told Jackson, who wiped away tears.

Booker also highlighted Jackson’s worth beyond her identity. “I'm sorry, you're a person that is so much more than your race and gender,” Booker said. Jackson’s parents later hugged Booker.

Booker is no stranger to what it means to break barriers. He's the first Black senator from New Jersey.

And he wasn’t the only Black lawmaker to speak on behalf of Jackson. Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, testified Thursday, defending Jackson from some Republican attacks.

“Sadly, but not surprisingly, Judge Jackson has been the subject of unfair attacks. These bad faith efforts exist despite a resume that arguably surpasses those of previous nominees,” said Beatty, chair of the Congressional Black Caucus.

Beatty also thanked Booker for his comments on Jackson.

"It was emotional. It was heartfelt," Beatty said. "But it also spoke not only to Black America but to America, of how valuable this will be because what we will see when she is confirmed is what America looks like."

Black women have rallied to defense of Jackson even before the hearings

Prior to Biden announcing Jackson as his nominee, some Republican lawmakers had criticized him for engaging in a “racial quota” system.

In response, organizations led by Black women rallied outside the Supreme Court, launched social media campaigns and lobbied senators with visits and calls to their offices in the lead up to the confirmation hearings.

“In this moment we are no longer invisible on the U.S Supreme Court," Melanie Campbell of the Black Women's Roundtable told USA TODAY’s national correspondent Deborah Berry on why it was necessary for Black women to support Jackson.

Aimee Allison, founder and president of She the People, an advocacy group for women of color in politics, told me that attention should be focused on Jackson's qualifications and record.

"It's important to focus on Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson's impeccable credentials, qualifications, experience and readiness for the Supreme Court, to not allow detractors to attack her and dismiss her in any way,” Allison said.

This week, Demand Justice, National Black Law Student Association, and Black Public Defender Association brought more than 100 Black law students to Washington, D.C., to rally on behalf of Jackson.

"It's important not only to witness history but also to provide Judge Jackson with some sense of support. I can only imagine what she's going through, the questions that she's enduring," said Jasmine R. McMillion, a student at Florida A&M University College of Law and president of the Black Law Students Association.

McMillion said that Booker's defense of Jackson made her cry and that it was necessary for him to speak up. "For Judge Jackson to be so qualified to be a Supreme Court justice, and she still has to endure these grueling questions that Supreme Court justices before her have not had to endure, it's just really telling," McMillion said.

It’s not just Black people defending Jackson

Democratic Rep. Raul Ruiz, chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, told USA TODAY’s Berry that it was significant for the caucus and other national Hispanic civil rights groups to “wholeheartedly’’ support Jackson. The caucus held a news conference outside the U.S. Supreme Court last week.

“Her story is our story,” Ruiz said in a phone interview Wednesday from his California district. “She faced obstacles and challenges and was able to overcome them.”

Ruiz said his caucus along with the Congressional Black Caucus and the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus will monitor the hearings and “lift her story and build momentum within our communities."

USA TODAY Congress, campaign and politics reporter Dylan Wells writes that Democrat Patrick Leahy of Vermont was emotional as he spoke about Jackson on Wednesday.

Leahy said Jackson “is an inspiration to all of us, to our families, those of us who have daughters, and granddaughters both white and Black.”

Black women still struggle in public and political office

Despite Jackson’s nomination, there are no Black women serving in the Senate after Kamala Harris' ascension to vice president.

Only two Black women have been elected to the Senate. Illinois Sen. Carol Moseley-Braun was the first Black woman elected to the Senate in 1992. She served a single term from 1993-99.

Harris was the second Black woman senator; she represented California in the Senate from 2017-21.

The United States has never elected a Black woman as governor – or president. As Black women transform their organizing capabilities into political power, that could change this year.

More Black women are running for governor, statewide offices and Congress. Many of the training programs for women are geared toward Democratic candidates, but some Republican women’s groups say they’re boosting efforts to diversify their pool of candidates, Berry writes for USA TODAY.

“Everyone is recognizing the sheer power of the leadership of Black women and women of color more broadly," Wendy Smooth, associate professor of women’s, gender and sexuality studies at the Ohio State University, told Berry. "For Black women, they’ve been long in this work around political organizing and mobilizing voters and we are now seeing a greater interest in actually running for office.’’

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Lawmakers, activists defend Ketanji Brown Jackson from GOP attacks