At her swearing-in ceremony to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in 2013, Ketanji Brown Jackson quipped to the group assembled, “It takes a village to raise a judge.” Jackson’s new memoir, “Lovely One” – the English translation of her first and middle names, Ketanji Onyika – pays homage to many of the family members and mentors who made up her village. It is also a tale of humility, faith, and optimism, but like other memoirs by sitting justices, it ends shortly after she is confirmed to the Supreme Court, doing little to reveal the inner workings of the often opaque court and leaving the reader to wonder how Jackson has fared in the two often-tumultuous terms since.
“Lovely One” begins with the story of Jackson’s family, which rose in two generations from segregation to the Supreme Court. Jackson’s grandparents on both sides only attended elementary school, and her own parents attended segregated schools. Starting out, Jackson’s maternal grandfather was a chauffeur, but he tired of working for wealthy white families in Jim Crow Georgia. Jackson recounts how he would often have to sleep in the car while traveling with the white families he worked for and rely on his employers to bring him food. He left and started his own landscaping business. From there he sent all five of their children to college. Jackson’s parents became public school teachers in Washington, D.C.; her father later went back to school to earn a law degree, while her mother became a school principal. Jackson discusses her own experiences of discrimination, detailing how she adapted to societal biases and prejudices she faced growing up.
“Lovely One” is also a love story: Ketanji Brown met Patrick Jackson in a history class at Harvard College during the first semester of her sophomore year. Over the following months, what started off as a friendship eventually became romantic. Patrick passed muster after a grilling from Ketanji’s female friends, who worried about the challenges a White guy dating a Black woman might face in Boston. Patrick later asked for permission from Jackson’s parents to propose to their daughter, proving himself to be one of his wife’s strongest cheerleaders. Jackson’s parents feature prominently in the memoir, instilling in her the grit and grace on which she would rely throughout her career.
Jackson credits others who paved the way for her to reach the country’s highest court – Justice Thurgood Marshall and Judge Constance Baker Motley, among others. She also pays tribute to mentors like Judge Patti Saris, who played essential roles in shaping her legal career.
Annotation of Jackson’s career transitions reveals an “odyssey as a professional vagabond,” detailing how she left her corporate law firm for a boutique arbitration and mediation practice to gain a better work-life balance. Her journey continued through various legal roles, finally leading to her position on the U.S. Sentencing Commission. Balancing her professional life with motherhood presented significant challenges, especially as she navigated her daughter’s early health and academic struggles.
Jackson’s spirituality, more so than organized religion, surfaces repeatedly in “Lovely One.” From attending a predominantly Black church in Cambridge for spiritual grounding to relating her family’s and her husband’s ancestors to divine providence, Jackson’s faith is a recurring theme.
Though “Lovely One” ends soon after Jackson is confirmed to the Supreme Court in 2022, Jackson hints at the issues she has faced. In her dissension with the court’s 2023 decision to strike down affirmative action in undergraduate admissions, she discusses the comfort she found within the Black community at Harvard. Similarly, she reflects on historical context for interpreting the law as a vital discussion point with her law clerks.
“Lovely One” closes on an optimistic note. Despite the challenges she faced, Jackson expresses gratitude for her opportunities to serve and defend the Constitution, leaning on faith, family, and the arts for rejuvenation. How much more lovely, she muses, can any one life be?
This article was originally published at Howe on the Court.