Alcindor Welcomes Dem Activists Getting Wish on Jackson, Laments Won’t Change Much

This Saturday’s edition Today The NBC News, the Political Contributor Network and PBS Washington Week host Yamiche Alcindor reacted to the news of Ketanji Brown Jackson’s nomination to the Supreme Court with excitement that Democratic activists will have another voice on the Court, but lamented that her ability to actually bring change is limited.

Kristen Welker, White House correspondent and host of the show Alcindor asked:

Judge Jackson if confirmed is not going to change the Court ideologically, but as you note, this is historic. There have been 115 Supreme Court justices, 108 of them have been white men. She is also a former criminal defense attorney. What would her impact be on the court?

Judges are supposed to interpret the law, not insert their own views or the views of the Democratic activists, but after also noting the historic nature of Jackson’s nomination, Alcindor said the quiet part out loud:

It’s going to change the—the– Court in that you will have someone who is representing in her body, one, the—the– large part of the Democratic base here and being a black woman, but also in her opinions. We’re going to be able to hear sort of how her life experiences go into her—her– decision, when you think about Justice Sonia Sotomayor, she’s someone who activists on the Democratic side often point to her decisions and her opinions, even if she’s not changing the actual outcome of the votes.”

Alcindor then returned to the historical aspects of the nomination, claiming that Jackson will be an inspiration, “There will be black women, black little girls looking up and saying ‘I could possibly be on the Supreme Court.’” 

Still, Alcindor lamented that Jackson’s ability to tackle alleged systemic racism will be limited: “But I should say there’s a caveat, the lived experience of black people, especially African-Americans who are being killed at two to three times the rate by police, who are facing disproportionate health aspects, they could still, of course, all that could still be true with her still sitting on that bench.”

In the meantime, CBS Saturday Morning, that network followed a similar line as Nikole Killion interviewed three excited, liberal black women activists, while ABC’s Good Morning America mostly focused on the historical significance of the nomination and Jackson’s Friday speech at the White House while predicting she will not receive much Republican support.

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This transcript is for the show on February 26, 2018.

NBC Today

2/26/2022

7.17 am ET

KRISTEN WELKER: Let me follow up with you on that point, Yamiche, because Judge Jackson if confirmed is not going to change the Court ideologically, but as you note, this is historic. There have been 115 Supreme Court justices, 108 of them have been white men. She is also a former criminal defense attorney. What would her impact be on the court? 

YAMICHE ALCINDOR: 233 years, that’s how long it took for a black woman to be nominated by the, to the Supreme Court, and that’s not a coincidence. There were a number of black women before this that could have been nominated like Constance Baker Motley who was a federal judge who was passed up mainly because she was a black woman. It’s going to change the—the– Court in that you will have someone who is representing in her body, one, the—the– large part of the Democratic base here and being a black woman, but also in her opinions. We’re going to be able to hear sort of how her life experiences go into her—her– decision, when you think about Justice Sonia Sotomayor, she’s someone who activists on the Democratic side often point to her decisions and her opinions, even if she’s not changing the actual outcome of the votes. 

I think the other thing that’s really interesting is that she will be someone who even in just—in representing will be inspiring for other people. There will be black women, black little girls looking up and saying “I could possibly be on the Supreme Court.” 

But I should say there’s a caveat, the lived experience of black people, especially African-Americans who are being killed at two to three times the rate by police, who are facing disproportionate health aspects, they could still, of course, all that could still be true with her still sitting on that bench.