WITH A VERY LOW RATE OF HAVING BEEN REVERSED. I CAN GO ON AND ON. DON'T WORRY, I WON'T. JUDGE JACKSON, FOR TWO DAYS HERE'S WHAT I HAVE SEEN. I HAVE SEEN A NUMBER OF MY COLLEAGUES TRYING TO ENGAGE WITH YOU IN GOOD FAITH ON QUESTIONS ABOUT THE LAW. YOU HAVE ANSWERED THEM FULLY, FAIRLY, AND THOUGHTFULLY IN EVERY INSTANCE. YOU HAVE SHOWN YOURSELF TO HAVE THE KEEN INTELLECT AND LEGAL ACUMEN TO SERVE ON THE SUPREME COURT. YOU HAVE ALSO SET HERE AND POLITELY LISTENED TO SOME OF MY COLLEAGUES HAVE ATTEMPTED TO DISPARAGE HER JUDGMENT AND CHARACTER BASED ON ALLEGATIONS THAT EVEN AS SENATOR BURKE -- SENATOR BOOKER POINTED OUT COMMENTATORS HAVE CALLED MERITLESS TO THE POINT OF DEMAGOGUERY. TO THAT, YOU HAVE SHOWN THAT YOU HAVE THE TEMPERAMENT TO SERVE ON THE SUPREME COURT. THIS CONFIRMATION HEARING HAS BEEN A REMINDER AND IN SOME WAYS A NEW EXHIBIT THAT FOR PEOPLE OF COLOR, PARTICULARLY THOSE WHO HAVE THE AUDACITY TO TRY TO BE THE FIRST OFTEN HAVE TO WORK TWICE AS HARD TO GET HALF THE RESPECT. JUDGE JACKSON, I OFFER THAT WITH YOUR TALENT AND QUALIFICATIONS ON FULL DISPLAY, IF MY COLLEAGUES TRULY BELIEVE IN MAINTAINING THE LEGITIMACY OF THE SUPREME COURT, IF THEY REALLY CARE ABOUT AMERICANS FAITH IN THE JUDICIAL SYSTEM, THEY WILL SEE THAT EVEN IF THEY MAY DISAGREE WITH YOU ON A PARTICULAR AREA OF THE LAW, THAT YOU ARE EXACTLY THE TYPE OF JUDGE THAT SHOULD SERVE ON THE SUPREME COURT. YOU ARE EXACTLY THE TYPE OF JUDGE THAT SHOULD RECEIVE BIPARTISAN SUPPORT NOT JUST FROM THIS COMMITTEE, BUT FROM THE FULL SENATE. IF ANY SENATOR DOESN'T, THEN I HOPE THEY WILL THINK LONG AND HARD ABOUT WHAT IT SAYS TO THE COUNTRY ABOUT THE POLITICIZATION OF THE SUPREME COURT THAT IF SOMEONE IS AS EMINENTLY QUALIFIED AS JUDGE JACKSON IN ALL OF THE WAYS WE HAVE BEEN DISCUSSING CANNOT RECEIVE BIPARTISAN SUPPORT. A COUPLE OF MINUTES LEFT. I WOULD LIKE TO ASK YOU ONE LAST QUESTION. LAST FRIDAY, IN MY PREPARATION FOR THESE HEARINGS, I TOOK THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEND SOME TIME WITH A GROUP OF STUDENTS AT SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO HIGH SCHOOL. I WENT THERE TO SPEAK WITH THEM ABOUT THIS HISTORIC SUPREME COURT NOMINATION. AND TO SPEAK WITH THEM ABOUT YOU. WE HAD A GREAT CONVERSATION ABOUT HOW THE COURTS DECISIONS AFFECT THE EVERYDAY LIVES OF AMERICANS. AND ABOUT THE PAST AND THE FUTURE OF THE SUPREME COURT. AS I WAS SPEAKING WITH THE STUDENTS, I COULDN'T HELP BUT BE REMINDED OF MY OWN HIGH SCHOOL EXPERIENCE. WHEN ONE OF MY TEACHERS DISCOURAGED ME FROM APPLYING TO M.I.T. BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T WANT ME TO BE DISAPPOINTED. I TURNED THAT DISCOURAGEMENT INTO MOTIVATION. JUDGE JACKSON, I KNOW THAT YOU HAVE ALSO BEEN DOUBTED ON YOUR WAY TO THE SEAT THAT YOU FIND YOURSELF IN TODAY. EVEN OVER THE LAST THREE DAYS OF THIS HEARING, YOUR EXPERIENCE AND QUALIFICATIONS HAVE BEEN CALLED INTO QUESTION BY SOME. DESPITE YOUR CLEAR LENGTHY RECORD OF TALENT, ACHIEVEMENT, AND ACCOMPLISHMENT. I WANT TO END MY TIME TODAY BY ASKING YOU THIS QUESTION. ON BEHALF OF THE YOUNG PEOPLE I VISITED WITH LAST FRIDAY IN SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO AND FOR THE MANY OTHERS ACROSS THE COUNTRY WHO ARE WATCHING THIS CONFIRMATION HEARING TODAY, WHAT WOULD YOU SAY TO ALL OF THOSE YOUNG AMERICANS, THE MOST DIVERSE GENERATION IN OUR NATIONS HISTORY? WHAT WOULD YOU SAY TO THEM WHO MADE OUT THAT THEY CAN ONE DAY ACHIEVE THE SAME GREAT HEIGHTS THAT YOU HAVE? HON. JUDGE JACKSON: THANK YOU, SENATOR. THAT WAS VERY MOVING. I APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK TO YOUNG PEOPLE. I APPRECIATE IT VERY MUCH. I DO IT A LOT FOR THE REASONS THAT YOU HAVE ARTICULATED. I HOPE TO INSPIRE PEOPLE TO TRY TO FOLLOW THIS PATH BECAUSE I LOVE THIS COUNTRY. BECAUSE I LOVE THE LAW. BECAUSE I THINK IT IS IMPORTANT THAT WE ALL INVEST IN OUR FUTURE . THE YOUNG PEOPLE ARE THE FUTURE, SO I WANT THEM TO KNOW THAT THEY CAN DO AND TO ANYTHING. -- THEY CAN DO AND BE ANYTHING. I WILL TELL THEM WHAT AN ANONYMOUS PERSON SAID TO ME ONCE. I WAS WALKING THROUGH HARVARD YARD MY FRESHMAN YEAR. AS I MENTIONED, I WENT TO PUBLIC SCHOOL AND I DIDN'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT HARVARD UNTIL MY DEBATE COACH TOOK ME THERE TO ENTER A COMPETITION AND I THOUGHT THIS IS A GREAT UNIVERSITY. IT WAS ONE OF THE ONLY ONES I HAD SEEN AND I SAID MAYBE I WILL APPLY WHEN I'M A SENIOR. I GET THERE AND WHOA, SO DIFFERENT. I AM FROM MIAMI, FLORIDA. BOSTON IS VERY COLD. IT WAS ROUGH. IT WAS DIFFERENT FROM ANYTHING I HAD KNOWN. THERE WERE LOTS OF STUDENTS THERE WHO WERE PREP SCHOOL KIDS LIKE MY HUSBAND [LAUGHTER] WHO KNEW ALL ABOUT HARVARD AND THAT WAS NOT ME. I THINK THE FIRST SEMESTER, I WAS REALLY HOMESICK. I WAS REALLY QUESTIONING DO I BELONG HERE? CAN I MAKE IT IN THIS ENVIRONMENT? I WAS WALKING THROUGH THE YARD IN THE EVENING AND A BLACK WOMAN I DID NOT KNOW WAS PASSING ME ON THE SIDEWALK. SHE LOOKED AT ME AND I GUESS SHE KNEW HOW I WAS FEELING. SHE LEANED OVER AS WE CROSSED AND SAID PERSEVERE. I WOULD TELL THEM TO PERSEVERE. ...