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Boston Globe
11-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
Michelle Obama, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson attend festivals on Martha's Vineyard
'I had no aspirations for Hollywood,' Rothwell said in the interview, according to Advertisement The trio also touched on mental health, relationships, and the importance of telling stories about the Black experience, according to the Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up The film festival, which ran from July 31 to Aug. 9, featured 26 films and more than 50 short films. Since 2002, the festival has become a popular destination for Black actors and filmmakers to share their work and experiences. 'That's why we do it — to salute filmmakers of color," Stephanie Tavares-Rance, co-founder of the festival, recently Advertisement Along with Obama, Michelle Obama hugged Floyd Rance during Higher Ground's "IMO with Michelle Obama & Craig Robinson" podcast during the Martha's Vineyard African American Film Festival. Arturo Holmes/Getty Also on Saturday, Jackson discussed her 2024 memoir, 'Lovely One,' at the second annual Jackson's memoir 'takes us on a journey from her family's roots in the segregated South to her historic confirmation to becoming a jurist on America's highest Court,' the festival wrote on 'Where I am now, I'm pretty much stuck. So I'm glad I got it all done,' Jackson told the audience about her roles as a law clerk, public defender and judge, according to the New York Times. The book festival is 'a celebration of Black literary excellence with author showcases, panel discussions, appetizers & refreshments,' according to 'This celebration is a unique opportunity for both aspiring and well-established Black authors in fiction, non-fiction, young adult, and children to support, share, and celebrate Black literary excellence,' the website said. The festival also featured Malcolm D. Lee, author of 'The Best Man' series, and Tara Roberts, author of 'Written in the Waters: A Memoir of History, Home and Belonging.' Globe correspondent Ryan Yau contributed to this report. Ava Berger can be reached at
Indianapolis Star
11-07-2025
- Politics
- Indianapolis Star
US Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson chronicles her life at Indiana event
Lawyers, law students and other fans of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson erupted in cheers and a standing ovation — eagerly snapping far-off, hazy cell phone photographs during the single occasion it was allowed — as she appeared Thursday at an Indianapolis Bar Association luncheon nestled within the Indiana Convention Center. Guided by moderator and U.S. District Court Judge Jane Magnus-Stinson of Indiana, she covered the personal — giggly tales of meeting her husband of 28 years — and got serious. 'What keeps you up at night?' Magnus-Stinson asked, during a 'lightning round' of questioning. 'I would say the state of our democracy,' Brown Jackson confessed. Brown Jackson, the first Black female justice in the court's 236-year-history, always hoped to pursue law. 'My father, who was a public school teacher when I was born, went back to law school when I was three years old, and some of my earliest memories are of sitting at the kitchen table, and he has his law books, and I have my coloring books, and we're working together,' she told the crowd. 'So I had always thought I wanted to be a lawyer. I didn't know what else you're supposed to do.' But it was in learning about Constance Baker Motley, the first Black female federal judge, that she thought: 'I could be a judge.' And it was Sandra Day O'Connor, the first woman on the Supreme Court, who inspired her to aim even higher. She spoke to promote 'Lovely One,' the memoir she began writing upon her confirmation to the court, with the goal of 'pay(ing) tribute to the people and the circumstances that I thought were really most responsible for that success.' That began with her grandparents, who grew up in Georgia 'in the early 1900s, in a time that was really significantly restricted for African Americans.' Neither graduated from formal schools; her grandfather chauffeured white families. They moved to Florida, and her grandfather drove for a beer company — until he 'got fed up with how he was being treated' — and launched a landscaping business. It financed education for his five children, including Brown Jackson's mother. All were first-generation college students. Even the timing of her 1970 birth mattered, Brown Jackson told the crowd. It was shortly after the end of Jim Crow Segregation and after the enactment of the Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act. 'My parents had grown up in Florida under segregation, having their life opportunities restricted,' she recounted. 'I'm born … and my parents thought, this is our shot. This is our shot to do everything that we didn't get a chance to do,' she continued. 'So our daughter's going to be in the swimming lessons if there's swimming lessons; she's going to do the piano lessons if there's piano lessons.' Brown Jackson later attended Harvard University, where, Magnus-Stinson noted, 'racism was not a strange experience.' One student hung a large Confederate flag — representing the failed attempt at secession by 11 slave-holding states — from a dormitory window along the prominent Harvard Yard. A bulb illuminated it 24 hours daily. As a member of the Black Students Association, she led protests against the student, but realized it was taking time from her study and work. 'The very real function of racism is distraction,' she said, citing writer Toni Morrison. '… It was a big turning point in the way that I view my purpose, which is to stay as focused as I can on the work that I'm called to do.' 'Let's (not) be distracted from the good work that we want to do and the oath that … we took for the people we're here to serve,' Magnus-Stinson agreed. Brown Jackson, who is also the first public defender to join the Supreme Court, described how the experience shaped her commitment to communicating with defendants. 'They might not agree with what ultimately happened to them if I sentenced them or whatever, but they weren't going to be confused about the process,' she said. Treating defendants with respect, she said, was 'crucial for their rehabilitation.' Throughout her remarks, Brown Jackson emphasized the value of speech and debate, clerkships and networking to the rapt audience.
Yahoo
08-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson on sharp dissents: 'We have very different opinions'
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, in her first public appearance since the Supreme Court sharply limited the ability of federal judges to check presidential power, said Saturday she believes recent rulings by the court's conservative majority pose an "existential threat to the rule of law." "Sometimes we have cases that have those kinds of implications, and, you know, are there cases in which there are issues that have that kind of significance? Absolutely," Jackson told ABC News Live Prime anchor Linsey Davis during a wide-ranging conversation at the Global Black Economic Forum. The court's newest justice and member of the liberal minority first leveled the charge last month in a remarkable solo dissent in the case Trump v Casa, which partially lifted nationwide injunctions against President Donald Trump's executive order to effectively end birthright citizenship. Jackson also wrote in her dissent that she has "no doubt that executive lawlessness will flourish because of the decision" and that she predicts "executive power will become completely uncontainable." The unusually blunt and sobering assessment drew sharp criticism, including from her colleagues. Justice Amy Coney Barrett accused Jackson of a "startling line of attack that is tethered neither to [precedent and the Constitution] nor, frankly, to any doctrine whatsoever." While Jackson did not directly address the case or specific criticism, she defended her right to express her views on the law and suggested that public scrutiny of the debate is welcomed. "I am actually heartened that people are focused on the court and the work that we're doing on the state of the government," she told Davis. "As a democracy, the people are supposed to be the rulers. The people are supposed to be leading in terms of the policies and the way in which our government operates. And so, the more that people are engaged with our institutions the better." MORE: Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson blasts 'narrow-minded' judging on Supreme Court: ANALYSIS Jackson's appearance came at the ESSENCE Festival of Culture in New Orleans, Louisiana, and was part of a promotional tour for her new memoir, "Lovely One," which chronicles her journey from south Florida to the Ivy League and on to the high court. President Joe Biden appointed Jackson in 2022 to replace retiring Justice Stephen Breyer. She is the first former public defender, for Florida-raised judge, and first Black woman to serve as a justice. "I'm aware that people are watching," Jackson told Davis. "They want to know how I'm going to perform in this job and in this environment, and so I'm doing my best work as well as I can do, because I want people to see and know that I can do anything just like anyone else." In her recently-concluded third term on the court, Jackson wrote more than 24 opinions -- second only to Justice Clarence Thomas -- and was the justice most often in dissent. "We have very different opinions," Jackson said, "and it's a tradition of the Court that justices get to voice their opinions in the context of their opinions and writings." MORE: Supreme Court's expansive view of presidential power is 'solidly' pro-Trump: ANALYSIS During oral arguments, Jackson was also among the most vocal on the bench -- by one count uttering 79,000 words, more than any other colleague. "It's funny to me how much people focus on how much I talk in oral argument," Jackson said. "It's been a bit of an adjustment because as a trial court judge, you have your own courtroom so you can go on as long as you want. So, trying to make sure that my colleagues get to ask some questions has been a challenge for me, but I've enjoyed it." Jackson said she believes the justices are "good at separating out the work" and maintaining cordial personal relationships with each other despite their disagreements.
08-07-2025
- Politics
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson defends blistering dissents: 'We have very different opinions'
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, in her first public appearance since the Supreme Court sharply limited the ability of federal judges to check presidential power, said Saturday she believes recent rulings by the court's conservative majority pose an "existential threat to the rule of law." "Sometimes we have cases that have those kinds of implications, and, you know, are there cases in which there are issues that have that kind of significance? Absolutely," Jackson told ABC News Live Prime anchor Linsey Davis during a wide-ranging conversation at the Global Black Economic Forum. The court's newest justice and member of the liberal minority first leveled the charge last month in a remarkable solo dissent in the case Trump v Casa, which partially lifted nationwide injunctions against President Donald Trump's executive order to effectively end birthright citizenship. Jackson also wrote in her dissent that she has "no doubt that executive lawlessness will flourish because of the decision" and that she predicts "executive power will become completely uncontainable." The unusually blunt and sobering assessment drew sharp criticism, including from her colleagues. Justice Amy Coney Barrett accused Jackson of a "startling line of attack that is tethered neither to [precedent and the Constitution] nor, frankly, to any doctrine whatsoever." While Jackson did not directly address the case or specific criticism, she defended her r ight to express her views on the law and suggested that public scrutiny of the debate is welcomed. "I am actually heartened that people are focused on the court and the work that we're doing on the state of the government," she told Davis. "As a democracy, the people are supposed to be the rulers. The people are supposed to be leading in terms of the policies and the way in which our government operates. And so, the more that people are engaged with our institutions the better." Jackson's appearance came at the ESSENCE Festival of Culture in New Orleans, Louisiana, and was part of a promotional tour for her new memoir, "Lovely One," which chronicles her journey from south Florida to the Ivy League and on to the high court. President Joe Biden appointed Jackson in 2022 to replace retiring Justice Stephen Breyer. She is the first former public defender, for Florida-raised judge, and first Black woman to serve as a justice. "I'm aware that people are watching," Jackson told Davis. "They want to know how I'm going to perform in this job and in this environment, and so I'm doing my best work as well as I can do, because I want people to see and know that I can do anything just like anyone else." In her recently-concluded third term on the court, Jackson wrote more than 24 opinions -- second only to Justice Clarence Thomas -- and was the justice most often in dissent. "We have very different opinions," Jackson said, "and it's a tradition of the Court that justices get to voice their opinions in the context of their opinions and writings." During oral arguments, Jackson was also among the most vocal on the bench -- by one count uttering 79,000 words, more than any other colleague. "It's funny to me how much people focus on how much I talk in oral argument," Jackson said. "It's been a bit of an adjustment because as a trial court judge, you have your own courtroom so you can go on as long as you want. So, trying to make sure that my colleagues get to ask some questions has been a challenge for me, but I've enjoyed it." Jackson said she believes the justices are "good at separating out the work" and maintaining cordial personal relationships with each other despite their disagreements.
07-07-2025
- Politics
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson reflects on life in the spotlight
In her third term as a Supreme Court justice, Ketanji Brown Jackson came out swinging. The high court's newest member took up boxing, appeared on Broadway, published her memoir, and wrote more than 24 opinions -- second only to Justice Clarence Thomas. She dominated oral arguments, querying opposing counsel more than any of her peers. Justice Jackson -- the court's first Black woman justice -- says she relishes the "privilege" to tell the world her opinions and to do it without flinching. "I'm aware that people are watching," Jackson said during a conversation about her book, "Lovely One," at the Global Black Economic Forum in New Orleans, Louisiana. "I think my work is obviously a very important challenge for me, that I'm saving my energy at times to direct my attention to writing as clearly as I can, to speaking as clearly as I could, about the issues that matter," the justice told moderator ABC News Live "Prime" anchor Linsey Davis. Jackson's book chronicles her journey from early childhood in Miami, Florida, to college in the Ivy League, a Supreme Court clerkship for Justice Stephen Breyer, work as a federal public defender and member of the U.S. Sentencing Commission, and appointment to the high court. "The timing of my birth I think is critical to understanding my sense of self-confidence and the way in which I move through the world," Jackson told Davis. "1970 was within four or five years of the passage of the Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act, and the end of Jim Crow segregation. "The idea of giving up on yourself was never really a choice for me," she added, "because my parents, who were public school teachers when I was born, decided that they were going to ensure that I knew that I could do anything I wanted to." Now, as a member of the court's three-justice liberal minority, Justice Jackson faces new challenges. She was the member of the court most often in dissent last term and generated significant public attention for pointed rhetoric in her writings. "The best part [of the job] is the privilege of having the opportunity to be in this position at this moment," she said, "being able to articulate my views with respect to the law. That is also, in a way, a challenge, because it is long hours, difficult work." Jackson said she reflects on an encounter she had during her freshman year of college at Harvard, retold in the book, when another Black student who she hadn't seen before and hasn't seen since, passed by and simply said, "persevere." "It felt like being given a lifeline," she told Davis. "A Black woman who I didn't know, who just whispered that to me as we passed each other. … That kind of encouragement is something that we should all be giving one another in this very challenging time."
