C.K. Hoffler: It represents validation
Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, Sr. Thursday said the historic 53-47 U.S. Senate vote confirming Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson as the first Black female U.S. Supreme Court Justice in the nation’s 232-year history proves “voting matters.”
Ketanji Brown Jackson is overwhelmingly qualified. She is in the lineage of Constance Baker Motley, the first Black woman to argue before the Supreme Court and argued 10 landmark civil rights cases winning nine of them, Thurgood Marshall, the first Black Supreme Court Justice, U.S. Judge Matthew Curry and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Judge Jackson is a change for the better. When we vote in great numbers, voting matters. Biden made good on one of his promises.
Attorney C.K. Hoffler, chairperson of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition board, said, “I am extremely excited that after a very long, arduous, degrading confirmation process that this incredibly well-qualified, exceptional jurist African American woman who has broader experience than any sitting U.S. sitting U.S. Supreme Court justice and the only, other than the late, great Justice Thurgood Marshall.
“She is the only U.S. Supreme Court Justice who defended people who was a federal public defender,” Hoffler stated. “To have her confirmed for me is not just historic. It represents validation because it is so important to see yourself on the U.S. Supreme Court. It is so important for Black women, for Black men, for Black and brown women, young girls, a rainbow coalition of people, as Rev. Jackson says, for this country to see this eminently qualified jurist elevated to the highest court in the land because this her rightful place. She has earned it. She has always been outstanding in everything she has done from a very, very age. I am filled with pride and joy, and I cried as the votes came in.”
Attorney Hoffler said she noticed that it was Senator Raphael Warnock (D-GA) from her state who cast the 50th vote. When she connects all the dots, they lead to Rev. Jackson and his southern voter crusade campaigns that made a difference in many elections. The results opened doors of opportunity for many seeking offices including Warnock.
“Rev. Janette Wilson, senior advisor to Rev. Jackson, said, “Today we celebrate the appointment of Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson to the United States Supreme Court. She represents the best of legal scholarship, judicial temperament, and demonstrates a firm grasp of her constitutional limits and scope of her authority as a judge.
“Her presence on the court will bring s unique perspective and a comprehensive interpretation of the law. She stands on the shoulders of Attorney Constance Baker Motley. She is in the tradition of many female attorneys including Charlotte E. Ray, and former Congresswoman Barbara Charline Jordan. Dr. King would be proud that she was judged by the “content of her character and not the color of her skin,” said Wilson.
Rainbow PUSH Coalition is a multi-racial, multi-issue, progressive, international organization that was formed in December 1996 by the Reverend Jesse L. Jackson, Sr. through merging of two organizations he founded Operation PUSH People United to Serve Humanity (estab. 1971) and the Rainbow Coalition (estab. 1984). With headquarters in Chicago and offices in Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, New York and Oakland, the organization works to make the American Dream a reality for all citizens while advocating for peace and justice around the world. RPC is dedicated to improving the lives of all people by serving as a voice for the voiceless. Its mission is to protect, defend and gain civil rights by leveling the economic and educational playing fields while promoting peace and justice around the world.