JUDGE, YOUR HONOR, VERY GOOD TO SEE YOU. WHEN YOU WERE IN MY OFFICE, YOU WERE FOCUSED ON THE HEARINGS. I COULD NOT STOP BEING JOYOUS THAT YOU WERE SITTING IN MY OFFICE AND I COULD NOT STOP RINGING UP TO THE HISTORICAL NATURE OF THIS. FORGIVE ME, I GREW UP IN A SMALL BLACK CHURCH WHERE I WAS TAUGHT TO MAKE A JOYOUS NOISE UNDER THE LORD AND THIS IS NOT A NORMAL DAY FOR AMERICANS. WE HAVE NEVER HAD THIS MOMENT BEFORE. I JUST WANT TO TALK ABOUT THE JOY. I KNOW THAT TOMORROW WE WILL HAVE TOUGH AND HARD QUESTIONS. PLEASE LET ME ACKNOWLEDGE THE FACT THAT THIS IS NOT NORMAL. IT HAS NEVER HAPPENED BEFORE. THE SENATE IS POISED RIGHT NOW TO BREAK ANOTHER BARRY. WE ARE ON THE PRECIPICE OF SEDIMENT ANOTHER GLASS CEILING. IT IS A SIGN THAT WE AS A COUNTRY ARE CONTINUING TO RISE TO OUR COLLECTED CHERISHED IDEAS. I SEE YOUR FAMILY SITTING BEHIND YOU. THE GREATNESS OF AMERICA IS THESE IMPERFECT GENIUSES THAT FOUNDED A NATION DIFFERENT THAN ANY BEFORE IN HUMAN HISTORY. IT WAS NOT BECAUSE WE ALL PRAYED THE SAME OR LOOKS THE SAME, WE PUT FORTH THE BEST HOPES FOR HUMANITY. IT HAS BEEN SAID BY SO MANY OF MY COLLEAGUES THE FACT THAT WE HAVE HAD 115 SUPREME COURT JUSTICES AND WE SHOULD NOT DIMINISH THE ACCOMPANIMENTS OF THESE 108 WHITE MEN. THEY ARE PATRIOTS THAT HELPED SHAPE THIS COUNTRY. NOW WE ARE SEEING TO THE HIGHEST COURT IN OUR LAND A HOPEFUL DAY LIKE THIS. SO MANY OF THE PEOPLE, SO MUCH RICH COUNT OF OUR NATION WHO COULD NOT SCARCELY EVER DREAM OF SITTING ON THE SUPREME COURT, NOW WE ARE SHOWING THAT WE WILL GO DEEP INTO THE WATERS OF OUR NATION AND PULL FORTH THE BEST TALENT. EXTRAORDINARY LEGAL TALENT COMES FROM ALL BACKGROUNDS. I KNOW THAT FOR THE 200 PLUS YEARS OF OUR HISTORY, THERE HAVE BEEN EXTRAORDINARILY TALENTED BLACK PEOPLE, MUSLIM MEN AND WOMEN FROM THE FOUNDING OF OUR NATION. WE HAVE SEEN EXTRAORDINARY INDIGENOUS MEN AND WOMEN WHO COULD HAVE ADDED TO THE GREATNESS OF OUR COURTS BUT THEY WERE DENIED THAT OPPORTUNITY. I BELIEVE WE SAY THESE WORDS, JUSTICE FOR ALL BUT THERE ARE MANY PEOPLE WHO FEEL THOSE WORDS HAVE BEEN DIMINISHED BY THE LACK OF REPRESENTATION, THE LACK OF AVENUES FOR TALENTED PEOPLE TO ASCEND. THANKS TO THE SACRIFICES OF ALL AMERICANS, PEOPLE ON BOTH SIDES OF THE POLITICAL AISLE, WE BEGAN TO SEE MORE AND MORE DIVERSE AMERICANS SLOWLY GET ONTO OUR FEDERAL COURTS. MY FAMILY CELEBRATED THAT. I WAS BORN IN 1969, THE YEAR THAT PRESIDENT JOHNSON NOMINATED THURGOOD MARSHALL. IT SHOOK THE FOUNDATION OF OUR NATION AND HE BEGAN A SYMBOL TO ALL OF US, BLACK AND WHITE OF WHAT A SUPREME COURT JUSTICE CAN BE. AND THEN RONALD REAGAN, 200 PLUS YEARS SINCE THE FOUNDING OF OUR NATION PUT JUSTICE SANDRA DAY O'CONNOR, THAT WAS NOT A NORMAL MOMENT. IT WAS A MOMENT TO REJOICE. NOW WE HAVE SEEN PRESIDENT OBAMA PUT SONIA SOTOMAYOR, THE FIRST HISPANIC ON THE COURT. WHAT I AM SEEING IN THIS CONGRESS IS THAT WE ARE OPENING THE DOORS OF DIVERSE TALENT TO OUR FEDERAL COURTS IN WAYS WE HAVE NEVER SEEN BEFORE. PRESIDENT BIDEN NOMINATED THE FIRST EVER ARTICLE THREE MUSLIM JUDGE TO OUR FEDERAL COURTS. HE NOMINATED -- NOMINATED THE FIRST TO BEAT TO Q WOMAN TO SERVE ON FEDERAL COURTS. THIS IS NOT TO THE BENEFIT OF OUR WHOLE NATION. THEY HEAR THE TRUTH OF WHO WE ARE AS A COUNTRY. AN INCLUSIVE AND MULTICULTURAL NATION THAT SHOWS THE WORLD THE PROMISE OF A TRUE DEMOCRACY. IN ALL, OVER TWO THIRDS OF THE CONFIRMED JUDGES UNDER THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION HAVE COME FROM GROUPS WHO HAVE HISTORICALLY NOT BEEN REPRESENTED ON OR FEDERAL COURTS. FOR THOSE REASONS AND MORE, IT IS A DAY OF JOY. I CANNOT TELL YOU HOW HAPPY I AM. TODAY WE SHOULD REJOICE BECAUSE PRESIDENT BIDEN NOMINATED SOMEONE THAT WE HEARD TO BE A JUDGE THAT IS EXTRAORDINARILY TALENTED AND ALSO HAPPENS TO BE A BLACK WOMAN. SOMETHING WE HAVE NEVER SEEN BEFORE. JUDGE JACKSON'S NOMINATION BREAKS A ARTIFICIAL THE CONFIDING MOLD OF OUR PAST AND OPENS UP A MORE PROMISING POTENTIAL FILLED FUTURE FOR US ALL AS AMERICANS. AMERICANS THAT SIGNALS THAT THIS NATION WILL DRAW MORE DEEPLY FROM ALL OF OUR TALENT AND BENEFIT ALL AMERICANS. THIS IS THE AMERICA THAT MOST OF OUR FAMILIES BEGAN FROM ALL DIVERSE BACKGROUNDS. A REMAKE AMERICA WERE ANYBODY CAN ACHIEVE ANYTHING, NOT BECAUSE OF THE COLOR OF THEIR SKIN, BUT BECAUSE OF THE CONTENT OF THEIR CHARACTER. GOD, I CAN'T WAIT UNTIL AMERICA FINDS OUT YOUR CHARACTER. THE NEXT GENERATION BEHIND US LOOKS AT THE HIGHEST COURT IN THE LAND, THIS IDEA WILL BE MADE MORE REAL IN THE FACES OF THE NINE YOU'D YOU BRING THIS WEALTH OF EXPERIENCES OF EXCITEMENT TO ME. HE SEES ONLY PART OF OUR LEGAL SYSTEM. I WANT TO TALK ABOUT YOUR ROLES AS PUBLIC DEFENDERS BECAUSE THAT IS UNPRECEDENTED. I HAVE A FRIEND HERE IN CONGRESS, BRIAN STEVENSON. WE HAVE A JUSTICES WHO TREAT YOU BETTER IF YOU'RE RICH AND GUILTY, THEN IF YOU'RE POOR AND INNOCENT. 80% OF THOSE WHO GO BEFORE OUR NATIONS CRIMINAL COURT CANNOT AFFORD AN ATTORNEY. A PUBLIC DEFENDER SHOULD BE LOOKED AT AS ONE OF THE MOST HONORABLE ROLES WITHIN OUR JUDICIAL SYSTEM. NEVER WE HAVE HAD A PUBLIC DEFENDER, OR ANYONE ON OUR HIGHEST COURT. IT UNFORTUNATELY IS LACKING AMONG ALL FEDERAL JUDGES. YOU WROTE, JUDGE THE ROLE THAT PUBLIC DEFENDER MAY DO A BETTER JUDGE. YOU SAID IT GIVE YOU A CHANCE TO HELP PEOPLE IN NEED AND TO PROMOTE CORE CONSTITUTIONAL VALUES. THE SIX AMENDMENT TO THE COUNCIL IS GUARANTEED REGARDLESS OF WEALTH AND DESPITE THE NATURE OF THE ACCUSATION. I HONOR THAT MORE THAN YOU KNOW, AS SOMEONE WHO STARTED IN LEGAL LIMITS AT YALE. I HAD MY EMPATHY EXPANDED, I HAD MY UNDERSTANDING OF THE STRUGGLES OF MY FELLOW AMERICANS IN WAYS THAT SHAPED MY PROFESSIONAL CAREER. I LOVED THE FACT THAT YOU HAVE BEEN A BRIDGE BUILDER IN SO MANY WAYS. YOU HAVE THE SUPPORT OF REPUBLICAN APPOINTED JUDGES AND DEMOCRATIC. YOU ARE CONFIRMED BY THE SENATE IN A BIPARTISAN MANNER THREE TIMES. I LOVE THE FACT THAT YOU HAVE THE SUPPORT OF CIVIL RIGHTS LAWYERS AND THE LARGEST POLICE ORGANIZATIONS YOUR IT IS A TESTIMONY TO WHAT THE NATION NEEDS MORE UP, THAT WILL FIND WAYS NOT TO ACCENTUATE THE LIVES OF DIVINE, BUT TRY TO FIND MORE TIES THAT BIND US TOGETHER. LET ME GO ONE NOTE MORE PERSONAL. BACK TO YOU SITTING IN MY OFFICE. I CAN'T TELL YOU HOW BEFORE OUR MEETING, HOW MANY PEOPLE REACHED OUT TO ME. IT WAS A VERY EMOTIONAL MOMENT. I CANNOT TELL YOU WHAT IT MEANT TO ME. WHEN YOU CAME TO MY OFFICE, I WAS KIND OF NERVOUS EVEN. THEN HE STARTED TALKING ABOUT YOUR FAMILY AND YOUR PARENTS. I WANT TO SAY YOUR PARENTS. YOU AND I ARE AROUND THE SAME AGE. BOTH OF OUR PARENTS GRADUATED FROM HBCUS. MY DAD IS ALSO AN EAGLE. THEY CAME TO D.C.. MY MOM WORKED IN THE D.C. PUBLIC SCHOOLS, JUST LIKE YOU. YOUR STORY, THE MORE YOU TALK, AMERICANS FROM ALL BACKGROUNDS KNOW WHAT IT IS TO BE UNDERESTIMATED AND LOOKED DOWN UPON. WHEN THEY TOLD ME YOU WERE TOO AMBITIOUS FOR WANTING TO GO TO HARVARD. YOU ARE A MOM THAT FACE CAREER CHALLENGES AT YOUR PRIVATE LAW FIRM. HOW MANY WOMEN CAN RELATE TO THAT? THE MORE YOU SPOKE ABOUT YOUR PERSONAL STORY, THE MORE I KNOW IT IS AN AMERICAN STORY THAT FOLKS FROM ALL BACKGROUNDS CAN RELATE TO. THERE IS THAT REALLY MOVES ME. BEHIND YOU, YOUR FAMILY IS YOUR DAUGHTER LAYLA. WHEN SHE WAS 11 YEARS OLD, I LOVE THIS. SHE WROTE A LETTER TO PRESIDENT OBAMA URGING HIM TO NOMINATE HIS MOTHER, HER MOTHER, YOU, TO THE UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT. IN THAT LETTER, HER RECOMMENDATION THAT YOU JUDGE JACKSON WOULD BE A GREAT SUPREME COURT JUSTICE. I SUSPECT AFTER THESE PROCEEDINGS, PLEASE GOD, AFTER CONFIRMATION OF THE SUPREME COURT, SOMETHING NEW WILL HAPPEN IN AMERICA. THAT LETTER FROM YOUR DAUGHTER WILL NOT BE EXCEPTIONAL. GENERATIONS UP A LITTLE YOUNG GIRLS AND GENERATIONS OF YOUNG BOYS, NO MATTER WHO THEIR PARENTS ARE WILL HAVE THE AUDACITY TO WRITE THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, WHETHER THEY ARE DAUGHTERS OF A WHITE PARENTS, BLACK PARENTS, BIRACIAL PARENTS, MUSLIM AND JEWISH PARENTS, WE ARE GOING TO SEE A NEW GENERATION OF CHILDREN TALKING ABOUT THEIR MAMAS. AND A DARING TO WRITE TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. THAT MY MOM SHOULD BE ON THE SUPREME COURT YOUR I WANT TO TELL YOUR DAUGHTER RIGHT NOW, THAT DREAM OF HERS IS SO CLOSE TO BEING A REALITY. IT IS A TOUGH DAY AHEAD BUT I THINK IT COULD HAPPEN. YOUR GRANDPARENTS GENERATION, LITERALLY THIS WEEK BUT IN 1965, WHEN MY PARENTS WERE IN WASHINGTON DC, THAT WEEK MARTIN LUTHER KING BEGAN ON THIS DAY OF MARCH FROM SALEM TO MONTGOMERY. WHEN HE FINALLY MADE IT ON THE 25TH OF MARCH, HE TALKED TO PEOPLE WHO WERE LOSING FAITH IN AMERICA, THAT WE COULD BE WHO WE SAY WE ARE. HE SAYS FOR THOSE FOLKS, HOW LONG WILL WE HAVE TO WAIT, NOT LONG BECAUSE THE ARK OF THE MORALLY DIVERSE IS LONG AND IT BENDS TOWARDS JUSTICE. WELL TODAY, AMERICA IS WITNESSING THE LITERAL BENDING OF THE ARK AND THE CONDUCTING OF ONE'S MOST SACRED IDEAS OF THIS COUNTRY, JUSTICE FOR ALL. I THINK MORE PEOPLE AT THE END OF THE GREEKS AND AFTER A SENATE VOTE, MORE PEOPLE WILL --PEOPLE AT THE END OF THESE HEARINGS, AFTER THE SENATE VOTE, WE BELIEVE WHO WE SAY WE ARE IN OUR HEARTS. I THINK YOU AND YOUR FAMILY ARE GIVING A LOT MORE PEOPLE FAITH. ...