Critical Note Response Assignment

Posted: November 7th, 2023

Critical Note Response Assignment

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Critical Note Response Assignment

Following one hundred and sixty years of emancipation, the United States finally voted in a Black female associate justice. The appointment of Ketanji Brown Jackson holds a special socio-political significance in America given its history of slavery, segregation, and gender inequality. While Ketanji Brown’s appointment is noteworthy for the U.S. justice system, it also marks the return of radical Black feminism, where change focuses on women spearheading structural-level mitigation strategies for public institutions.

Politics has the power to take Black women from the edges of society to the core of an uprising. Taylor (2020), in her analysis of the Combahee River Collective, believed that the struggles of Black women came from the interplay between racism, sexism, and poverty. Therefore, if Black women ever found themselves free, it meant the rest of society was equally free because freedom means all systems of oppression have been destroyed. Lorde (2007) reinforces this view through his popular statement, “The master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house.” The proverb highlights why Ketanji’s appointment is meaningful for the Black community, especially Black women. Years of the liberal courts being headed by upper-class Caucasian men and women have led to continuity of judicial injustice against minority communities.

Black women will achieve freedom only by actively participating in the political and economic system. Bowleg (2021) states that Black women should stop relying on traditional social and behavioural sciences to advocate for social justice. Instead, they should cultivate their mentorship and support through participation. Ketanji is achieving this function by paving the way for more women from minority communities to change the judicial system. The critical race theory outlines the importance of overhauling public systems to sustain cultural change (Ray & Gibbons, 2021). Ketanji Brown’s presence in the Supreme Court will encourage society to discuss racism and sexism in the criminal justice system more. Helping change the identity of America’s social institutions will prove strategic in promoting gender equality.

References

Bowleg, L. (2021). “The master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house”: Ten critical lessons for black and other health equity researchers of colour. Health Education & Behaviour, 48(3), 237–249. https://doi.org/10.1177/10901981211007402

Lorde, A. (2007). The master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house. In Sister Outsider. Crossing Press.

Ray, R. & Gibbons, A. (2021). Why are states banning critical race theory? Brookings, https://www.brookings.edu/fixgov/2021/07/02/why-are-states-banning-critical-race-theory/

Taylor, K. Y. (2017). How we get free: Black feminism and the Combahee River Collective. Haymarket Books.