Ketanji Brown Jackson, a Progressive Traditionalist. Will We Live up to Our Values?

Ketanji Brown Jackson

At her confirmation hearing last week, Republicans painted Ketanji Brown Jackson as a leftist radical. Yet, her opening statement was all about tradition. She talked about what she called the “grand experiment of American democracy.” If confirmed, Jackson will be the first African American woman on the United States Supreme Court. Her opening statement was both traditional and innovative – a paradox. Progressive traditionalism is actually a common trope in progressive rhetoric, let’s look at how it works. Let us look at how Jackson’s opening statement reconciled the Revolutionary War tradition of equality with the heritage of the Civil Rights Movement.

Ever since the nation’s founding, contradictory ideologies have struggled for the nation’s soul. We have, of course, the Declaration of Independence’s timeless statement, penned by Thomas Jefferson, that we are all equal:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”

Despite his magnificent words, Jefferson owned three plantations operated by slave labor. Indeed, chattel slavery – one of the world’s most wicked institutions – was widely practiced among the 13 colonies. It took the Civil War to end legalized slavery. Jim Crow, de facto segregation, and voter suppression never completely died out. Yet, it was the government that finally passed legislation “to secure these rights” during the Civil Rights movement.

Much progressive rhetoric hearkens back to Jefferson’s idealistic vision. Equality and equal justice are ancient American traditions. Against massive conservative opposition, the 13th Amendment to the Constitution ended slavery, the 14th Amendment guarantees equal protection of the law, and the 15th amendment protects the right to vote. Civil Rights legislation passed in the 1960s. Having been in force for decades, have they now become part of the United States’ traditions? Or do Civil Rights continue to be part of what Republicans call a “radical leftist agenda.”


Judge Jackson Memorialized Civil Rights

So, what did Jackson say about tradition? After thanking her family, friends, and mentors, Jackson praised the United States’ blessings. She did not, however, tie those blessings to 1776. Instead, she tied them to the more recent heritage of Civil Rights. In other words, she argued from tradition, but not the tradition that the Republican senators most wanted to hear. As she praised the United States, Jackson also reminded the audience that her parents enjoyed freedom because of the Civil Rights legislation of the 1960s.

“The first of my many blessings is the fact that I was born in this great Nation, a little over 50 years ago, in September of 1970. Congress had enacted two Civil Rights Acts in the decade before, and like so many who had experienced lawful racial segregation first-hand, my parents, Johnny and Ellery Brown, left their hometown of Miami, Florida and came to Washington D.C. to experience new freedom.”

A key phrase: “new freedom.” Not the old freedom of 1776, which didn’t include everyone. A new freedom. Although the Revolutionary War purported to give all Americans liberty, Jackson’s parents only enjoyed “new freedom” because of the Civil Rights Movement and the chance to relocate.


Jackson and the Ideal of Equal Justice

Values, like liberty and equality, force us to question our actions. Will we let our values change our behavior? Will we become better people by following our values? Or will our values only get lip service? Jackson tied her love of country to a new tradition – a “new freedom” – the tradition of African-American success:

“During this hearing, I hope that you will see how much I love our country and the Constitution, and the rights that make us free. I stand on the shoulders of many who have come before me, including Judge Constance Baker Motley, who was the first African American woman to be appointed to the federal bench and with whom I share a birthday.”

Will the nation live up to its ideals? Jackson addressed that question as well:

“And like Judge Motley, I have dedicated my career to ensuring that the words engraved on the front of the Supreme Court building—"Equal Justice Under Law" — are a reality and not just an ideal. Thank you for this historic chance to join the highest Court, to work with brilliant colleagues, to inspire future generations, and to ensure liberty and justice for all.”

Conclusion

“To ensure liberty and justice for all.” That is an ideal. Yet slavery, Jim Crow, and voter suppression have been realities. We create ideals because we want to improve ourselves. Jackson’s opening statement talked a lot about tradition, but the traditions became complex because the United States is a complex nation. We are all, Jefferson insisted, “created equal.” Our rights are, he said, “unalienable.”

Those traditions go back to the nation’s founding. Racial discrimination also goes back to the nation’s founding. And, yet, Civil Rights legislation dates back more than 50 years. Jackson melded those traditions.

So, are we ready to continue with “new freedom?” New freedom from traditional values? Like many progressive speakers before her, Jackson insisted that progressive ideas grew from traditional roots.


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Earlier Post: Could Ketanji Brown Jackson Have Reset the Republicans' Agenda?

Earlier Post: Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer's Retirement Speech Reminded Us That the United States Is an Experiment

Earlier Post: Oprah Winfrey's Eulogy for Rosa Parks: A Speech about Opposing Traditions