In 2018, Harris County became known for its “Black girl magic” after 19 Black women won their races for judgeships, a record in Texas’ largest county. The Houston 19, as they were called, stuck together, calling each other “sister judges” and leaning on each other for guidance and friendship.
This past week, they shared in the magic and joy of Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson’s confirmation hearing.
And what an emotional rollercoaster it was.
“I had to text some of my fellow sister judges. ... I said, ‘I don’t know about y’all, but I feel regal today,’” Judge LaShawn Williams, 53, told HuffPost. “I felt like I was sitting a little higher on my bench.”
When they weren’t in hearings, this historic group of judges made sure to tune in. Some were at court, others were working from home. They had closed captioning on as they reviewed cases, watched live when they had a break and stayed up late into the night to catch up after their work was done.
They were texting all week with one another, sharing their dismay at some of the questioning and their pride in how Jackson handled the long, intense days.
“We are all watching this together,” Judge Angela Graves-Harrington, 46, said. “We are sharing our joy and our excitement about this moment with each other. It lit a fire under us to give that push to keep going.”
“I wanted to send her virtual hugs of ‘hang in there and you can do it. And we are here and we understand,’” added Judge Shannon Baldwin, 51.
If the Senate confirms Jackson, she will be the first Black woman ever on the Supreme Court. Even though she will not change the court’s ideological makeup, GOP senators have gone after her in order to burnish their own conservative credentials. They threw inaccurate attacks against her, painting her as a radical activist and as someone who has gone easy on sex offenders.
The hearings were, at times, infuriating and hard to watch for the Houston 19. But all six of the women who spoke to HuffPost said they walked away awed by her temperament, using words such as “poise,” “meticulous” and “gracious.”
“It really humbled me,” Baldwin said. “I finished looking at that with great admiration for her, because I don’t know — given those circumstances — that I would be able to handle it with the same level of grace that she did.”
“My dad used to tell me all the time ― it’s not the loud person that’s showing strength, the one that’s always ready to speak and fight. Sometimes, to restrain yourself takes more strength than what people realize. And I think the way that she was able to keep herself together shows how strong she really is,” Judge Toria Finch, 41, added.
Without question, the high point for each of these women was Sen. Cory Booker’s (D-N.J.) time on Wednesday. He channeled much of what they were feeling ― the frustration at watching the attacks on Jackson’s character and qualifications, but also the profound joy that her success has brought to so many people.
“You’re a person who is so much more than your race and gender,” Booker told Jackson with tears in his eyes. “It’s hard for me not to look at you and see my mom, my cousins.”
“Nobody is gonna steal the joy,” he went on. “You have earned this spot. You are worthy.”
Every judge who spoke with HuffPost said they, too, cried during his remarks. Finch said the moment was so special that she took a picture of the TV.
“I was really bawling,” Williams said. “When he started, I knew what he was about to do. I said, ‘OK, this brother is about to build her up, which is what she needs.’ … But I did not know that he was just going to completely go so genuinely. And I just felt like he was speaking not just to her ― I took his words personally, too.”
“It took me a while to get myself together. I’m glad I was in my office,” Judge Tonya Jones, 35, told HuffPost. “Another perception that we have is that judges are these stoic individuals who are devoid of human emotion. I’m glad that people were able to see that and understand she is a human being, and understand what all it has taken for her to get to this point ― to be before the senators and have her qualifications questioned in this way.”
Judge Erica Hughes, 42, said she felt incredibly defensive on Jackson’s behalf during the hearings, but that Booker’s comments put her in a “state of joy.”
“I kind of stuck with that as a theme for the rest of my day and whatever I did, I was joyful for the opportunity that she had, that she had done so well, that she had so much experience and was so deserving. I’m still carrying that joy,” Hughes said.
Jackson’s nomination has inspired a tremendous outpouring of support, with Black women rallying outside the Supreme Court this week.
Jackson’s credentials are impressive ― more impressive than other justices, in fact ― and, if confirmed, she would also make history as the first justice to have served as a public defender.
Yet that hasn’t been enough for some conservatives, including Tucker Carlson. The Fox News host has demanded to see her LSAT score, suggesting that she wasn’t really qualified enough to get into Harvard Law School.
Jones said it was a familiar feeling.
“I can say that I’ve experienced that,” she said. “I think women all over can relate to this happening ― coming into rooms and having to prove that we are who we say we are and what our credentials show us to be.”
“I definitely think she was targeted ... because she is a minority and people in the United States unfortunately still feel like Black women may not be qualified enough or as qualified, even with all her experience and credentials,” Hughes added.
“Young African American girls need to see themselves in places of success and authority because we are the least to be celebrated in those spaces.”
- Judge Shannon Baldwin
The Houston 19 garnered national headlines back when they won their races in 2018. Their success was a significant leap forward for the county encompassing Houston, one of the most diverse areas in the country. Since that time, even more Black women have been seated on the bench there.
These women saw firsthand how and why representation matters, and they said having a Black woman finally seated as a Supreme Court justice is essential for the next generation of Black girls to believe in themselves.
“Young African American girls need to see themselves in places of success and authority because we are the least to be celebrated in those spaces,” Baldwin said. “So when you see someone ascend into a place or a status of greatness, it’s important because oftentimes, that’s what you have to look forward to. When you don’t have that, then you can’t have hope. No one can survive with little to no hope.”
Graves-Harrington said she was always told that “nothing’s impossible.” But until Jackson, she wasn’t sure if it was actually possible for a Black woman to sit on the Supreme Court.
“Even as the first African American female judge on my bench, the first Black administrative judge of all of the family district courts in Harris County, Texas, I never envisioned it going any further than that,” Graves-Harrington said. “And it’s sad because each time I take a step, I start telling myself this is the limit. Like, I’m here. This is where I am going to stop, because there’s no way I’m going to make it any higher than this.”
“We never envisioned this ― a strong, confident, Black woman on the way to becoming a Supreme Court justice. It just really reaffirms for me. It’s really just bigger than just having a Black woman on the bench,” she added. “It’s a sign of hope for all of us who are striving to become the greatest in whatever it is that we do.”