East Orange, NJ: City of East Orange Mayor Ted R. Green issued the following statement after President Biden announced his intention to nominate Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson as the next Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States:

“As we stand at the crossroads of Black History Month and Women’s History Month, our nation has communally witnessed the historic nomination of Judge Kentanji Brown Jackson, who if confirmed, will become the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States. I applaud President Biden’s remarkable selection and unabashedly support his commitment to build a Supreme Court that suitably reflects the citizens of our diverse country that its rulings impact.

As the Mayor of the great City of East Orange, I can personally attest to the importance of having individuals with diverse perspectives serving in a leadership capacity. Judge Kentanji Brown Jackson’s rapport as an assistant public defender, criminal justice policymaker, and former Vice Chair of the U.S. Sentencing Commission affords her a wealth of experience that will bring a much-needed perspective to the highest court of the land. 

I am in deep appreciation of President Biden for the staunch consideration and effort he put into pursuing his first Supreme Court nominee and I urge the Senate to move swiftly in confirming Judge Jackson with bipartisan support. The duty of a Supreme Court justice is to fairly and impartially apply the law while protecting our rights that are guaranteed by the Constitution, and Judge Jackson’s confirmation will bring us that much closer to being a government of the people, for the people and by the people. In as critical as a time that we are experiencing today, I am confident that she will continue to protect the fundamental rights of all, and I firmly stand in her support.”