For Carol Moseley Brown, the first black woman to be elected to the Senate, most of what Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson felt during her confirmation process for the Supreme Court seemed very familiar.
“There’s a word, and the word is called Misozinoir,” he tells Vox. “And this term describes the double trauma that women of color have to face: you are weak on the issue of gender, and you are weak on the issue of race.”
Moseley Brown, who previously sat on the Judicial Committee, insisted that Jackson had brought to the court a valuable new perspective that was missing at the moment. While in the Senate – which currently has no black women legislators – Moseley Brown felt many of the same gaps.
“It’s a matter of their ignorance that people don’t recognize racism when they see it, they don’t recognize abuse when they see it,” he said.
Jackson – who was a federal district court judge, appellate court judge and public defender – made history when he was confirmed in the Supreme Court on Thursday. The Senate voted 53-47 in favor of her nomination, making Jackson the first black woman to become a Supreme Court judge.
Moseley Braun sat down with Vox to discuss the significance of the moment and the need for more representation on the federal bench and in Congress.
This interview has been edited and shortened for clarity.
Li Zhu
How would you describe the significance of Jackson’s conviction in the Supreme Court?
Carol Moseley Brown
I’m excited because of the fact that we didn’t have one [Black woman] In the Supreme Court, you know, all these years since 1789. And so he is the first, more than a hundred Supreme Court justices. He’s breaking new ground.
And that’s very important because, frankly, the reason I ran for the Senate was because Thegood Marshall and Warren Court changed the course of my life. They were freed from isolation, so I was able to get a decent education and I didn’t have to sit in the back of the bus. I was not denied service because of my color. And so, you know, [the Supreme Court] This could be a huge change in the development path of the country. And so his vision and his vision and his life experience will give the Supreme Court a lot of new information that they do not have now. And it’s going to be very, very important and significant.
I don’t think he would lag behind in trying to influence his other colleagues in court.
Li Zhu
Can you talk about the pressure to be “first” as the first black woman to be elected to the Senate?
Carol Moseley Brown
The fact of the matter is that you get special when you first, and people expect that you will not only excel, but do it in a way that fits all their different cultural expectations.
It is very difficult. But if you follow him during the confirmation hearing, he has such compassion, such agility, and such diplomacy. She really is a role model. I mean, I sat there and looked at him and was surprised because, to be honest, I would slap some of those people. I have a much smaller fuse than that. Sitting there and being composed and judging, when they ask, I mean, ridiculous questions. And they were really bad for him – and that’s not new.
It all started with Robert Bork, frankly. And since then, it has become a “gotcha” subject. And one thing, you know, treat the nominees in a way that they are less than human. And the Republicans who took the bait and went and did it, I think it’s reprehensible.
Li Zhu
What was your overall reaction to how lawmakers treated Jackson at the hearing?
Carol Moseley Brown
To suggest that he is somehow less than worthy, less than worthy, when you know, most of them could not polish your boots. But the fact is, he’s remarkably deserving. Everyone knows it. And they have no place to go in terms of qualifying.
But, again, it goes back to some real ancient racism that made black people less intelligent and less capable and less qualified than anyone else. And so they tried to go where, but it didn’t work. It did not stand with the harsh light of reality and its record. He had a great record a few years ago. And he has ruled over so many repetitions of the various questions that our country has faced that they have nothing to do with it.
Li Zhu
What have you gotten out of the confusing questions that you have suggested about Jackson’s soft, childish pornography punishment, unusually relaxed, and critical race theory?
Carol Moseley Brown
Again, it’s another harkening to try to play race cards. That was it.
What surprised me was that more people didn’t call it what it was. It’s just colorless racism.
Quite frankly, the whole thing is “soft on crime.” Like this, why would they be lenient towards Democrats ’crimes? It’s like we guessed – I guess because he’s black, he’s soft on crime and not patriotic. Why would you go there?
This is an old, racist trope with which blacks have had to fight, the notion that there is such a tendency in our community that does not exist anywhere else, which is unproven by insanity and information.
Li Zhu
How does Jackson’s confirmation hearing compare to others when you were on the Judicial Committee?
Carol Moseley Brown
Well, you know, it was a lot harder. They didn’t come like Ruth Bader Ginsberg or Stephen Breyer. Again, because she was black and a black woman, they were able to reach the most stale, old, racist troupes to try to trip her. And that’s what they were trying to do. I don’t think it works.
There is a word, and the word is called misozinoir. And this term describes the double trauma that colored women have to face: you are weak on gender issues, and you are weak on racial issues. And when you put these two together, it can be a very toxic trap. And he was able to navigate all the ins and outs in a way that kept him intact. And so she made me very, very proud to see her.
Li Zhu
When it comes to legislation, Democrats have struggled to provide things like suffrage and police reform. What message are you sending to Judge Jackson’s nomination of black voters to the Democratic Party?
Carol Moseley Brown
Well, I think that’s a very positive message.
At least in the black women’s community it was a problem I heard more than anything else, you know, [Barack Obama] Did not nominate a black woman.
Joe Biden can acquit the Democratic Party with this nomination because he has shown that he is right-wing and is not afraid to take on Donald Trump’s party.
Li Zhu
Which aspect is missing in the Senate, where there are currently no black women legislators?
Carol Moseley Brown
The whole idea of democracy is that you combine different perspectives, it is a government by the people, by the people. And if you don’t have black people in these legislatures, in the Supreme Court, what you will miss is the perspective and life experience of a certain group of Americans who have gone through this with this country.
I hung up the phone with the World War Commission, trying to build a memorial to the Duffboys. Our 350,000 black soldiers fought for democracy to make the world safer. And when they came home, they were beaten. So the point is that black people have contributed to this country in every possible way and they should have a voice in deciding its direction.
The fact that we have no black women in the Senate means that those views are missing in his decision making and policy and debate. When I think back, I mean, the Confederate flag had this renewable patent that passed as a routine matter until I went to the Senate. And when I got there, I said, “Oh, guys, you can’t do that. It’s offensive. And that’s why.” It turned out that I had won and lost the Confederate flag patent, something that no one had noticed before.
It’s not that people are actively trying to be racist. It’s a matter of their ignorance, they don’t recognize racism when they see it, they don’t recognize abuse when they see it.
