Who is ketanji jackson husband

Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first Black woman to be nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court, is sitting before the Senate Judiciary Committee this week during her weeklong confirmation hearing, answering senators' questions on her qualifications, judgments and philosophy. She is speaking for hours on some of the nation's most controversial issues – abortion, critical race theory, court-packing. But some of the hearing's most captivating moments involved no words at all, were found instead in the expressions of the family behind her: a husband overwhelmed with emotion, a daughter who smiled at her mother with awe.

They were tender moments that hinted at the enormity of the day, and Jackson's introduction of her family members helped add important context for how she arrived there. Jackson said without her husband Dr. Patrick Jackson's support "none of this would have been possible," and she told her daughters, Talia and Leila, she knew "it has not been easy as I have tried to navigate the challenges of juggling my career and motherhood" and admitted she "did not always get the balance right."

Her family's emotion and her nods to their support and sacrifice shine light on the historically overlooked achievements of Black women, the challenges of working mothers, and the value of men who champion them. 

"Hearings for Supreme Court nominees aren't merely formal political procedures. They're live drama media spectacles. The theatrics aren't a distraction – in many ways they are the focal point of these important cultural moments," said Jackson Katz, a gender expert and author of several books on the politics of masculinity. 

Jackson: 'Humbled' by historic nomination to Supreme Court

Karyn Lacy, a sociology professor at the University of Michigan and author of "Blue-Chip Black: Race, Class, and Status in the New Black Middle Class," said it's important Jackson's husband's tears are not only framed in the context of gender equality but also viewed through the lens of intersectionality. Dr. Patrick Jackson, who is white, is married to a Black woman, which Lacy said gives him a front-row seat to some of the unique challenges Black women face in white-collar occupations.

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"Most white men are not positioned to see the world from this vantage point," she said. "In that sense, Dr. Jackson's tears reminded me of the tears I saw Black people shed, older Black people in particular when Obama was first elected in 2008. It's a recognition that while historically Black people have been denied the opportunity to reach their full potential, every now and then, there's a breakthrough."

Jackson's husband offers 'honest display of emotion'

On social media, many users called Jackson's husband's reaction "powerful," claiming it offered a model for healthy heterosexual partnership. 

"One of the great things about media coverage of Brown Jackson's husband's response to her nomination – including his honest display of emotion – is that in an era when so many men in public life are clearly threatened by strong women, it provides men, young men, and boys with a concrete example of a highly successful man who is confident enough to embrace progress for women, which is another way of saying progress for our democratic ideals and values," Katz said.

Tony Porter, founder of A Call to Men, an organization that focuses on reframing the definition of manhood, points out the attention around the display of emotion also underscores how uncommon it remains.

"We would not question this if her mother was wiping a few tears. We would not question it if her daughters or her girlfriend were wiping away a few tears," he said.

Working mothers praise Ketanji Brown Jackson's vulnerability

When Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson spoke to her daughters about failing to always get "the balance right," many working mothers thanked her for her vulnerability. They felt that, too. They feel it still. 

Porter said for Jackson to succeed as a Black woman, facing the dual forces of sexism and racism, it likely required her to put in a significant amount of time and energy that at times kept her from being fully present in her children's lives. But he also said it's notable that Jackson felt she needed to apologize for it.

"A woman celebrates the success and then because of socialization, feels she also has a responsibility to apologize for her absence," he said.

Dawn Dow, a sociology professor at the University of Maryland-College Park and author of "Mothering While Black: Boundaries and Burdens of Middle-Class Parenthood," found in her research that middle- and upper-middle-class Black mothers often stay in the workforce, even when their children are young.

Jess Calarco, a sociology professor at Indiana University who studies systems of inequality, said those decisions reflect racial wealth and income inequalities that can make it difficult for many Black mothers to afford to stay home with their children, as well as reflect racist stereotypes that Black women may face if they do decide to stay home with their children full-time, including that they are poor or seeking welfare.

Calarco said Dow's work shows "why and how Ketanji Brown Jackson has persisted despite the challenges of being a Black mother working in a field built for wealthy white men, and also shows us why her family has rallied behind her and cheered her on every step of the way."

Jackson told her daughters she hopes they "have seen that with hard work, determination and love, it can be done. I am so looking forward to seeing what each of you chooses to do with your amazing lives."

The cheering went both ways. 

During the hearing, on her daughter Leila's seat was a yellow piece of paper adorned with hand-drawn balloons that read, "You got this!" 

The family of Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson listen during her confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Monday, March 21, 2022, in Washington. From left, husband Patrick Jackson, daughter Leila Jackson, and daughter Talia Jackson. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

(CNN) — Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson emphasized her family and faith as part of her introduction to lawmakers during her Supreme Court confirmation hearings.

“Even prior to today, I can honestly say that my life had been blessed beyond measure,” Jackson, 51, said on Monday before expressing gratitude to and love for various members of her family.

This is who’s who among Jackson’s family:

Patrick Jackson

Jackson met her husband, Patrick, in college and the two have been married for 25 years. They live in Washington, D.C., with their daughters.

Dr. Patrick Jackson is a surgeon at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital.

As the Supreme Court nominee referenced her husband on Monday, he could be seen wiping tears from his eyes.

“I have no doubt that, without him by my side from the very beginning of this incredible professional journey, none of this would have been possible,” she said.

Leila and Talia Jackson

Jackson’s daughters were seated in the audience Monday next to their father. Leila Jackson, 17, wore a lavender suit, and her elder sister Talia Jackson, 21, had a black printed dress and a matching face mask.

When she was 11, Leila wrote a letter to former President Barack Obama about nominating her mom to the Supreme Court.

Jackson addressed her daughters in her opening statement, saying: “Girls, I know it has not been easy as I have tried to navigate the challenges of juggling my career and motherhood. And I fully admit that I did not always get the balance right. But I hope that you have seen that with hard work, determination, and love, it can be done. I am so looking forward to seeing what each of you chooses to do with your amazing lives in this incredible country.”

Johnny and Ellery Brown

Johnny and Ellery Brown, Jackson’s parents, have been married for 54 years.

Both Miami natives, they were raised in the Jim Crow South, attended segregated primary schools, before graduating from historically Black colleges and universities, according to her White House biography. They settled in DC and both worked as public school teachers.

“When I was born here in Washington, my parents were public school teachers, and to express both pride in their heritage and hope for the future, they gave me an African name — ‘Ketanji Onyika,’ which they were told means ‘lovely one,'” Jackson recalled in her opening statement. “My parents taught me that, unlike the many barriers that they had had to face growing up, my path was clearer, such that if I worked hard and believed in myself, in America I could do anything or be anything I wanted to be.”

After Jackson was born, the family moved back to Miami so Johnny could get his law degree from University of Miami Law School.

Jackson credited her interest in law to her father, recalling in her opening remarks, “My very earliest memories are of watching my father study — he had his stack of law books on the kitchen table while I sat across from him with my stack of coloring books.”

Ketajh Brown

There is a 10-year age gap between Jackson and her younger brother Ketajh, who was at Monday’s hearing seated next to their parents.

After graduating from Howard University, Ketajh worked as an undercover narcotics recovery officer in the Baltimore City police department.

In the wake of the September 11th attacks, Ketajh joined the Maryland Army National Guard, became an infantry officer, and was deployed twice to the Middle East.

Ketajh is currently an associate at the law firm K&L Gates’ Chicago office.

Former House Speaker Paul Ryan

Jackson on Monday also nodded to her “large extended family,” which includes one notable D.C. politico: former House speaker and longtime Republican Rep. Paul Ryan.

Ryan, who served as speaker from 2015 to 2019, is related to Brown by marriage. His wife’s sister, Dana, is married to Patrick Jackson’s twin brother, William.

The-CNN-Wire