The Board of Directors of the National Bar Association recommends the White House consider Judge J. Michelle Childs and Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson as candidates to fill the vacant United States Supreme Court Justice seat made available by Justice Stephen Breyer’s recent retirement. 

Judges are role models to other lawyers, and the community members that appear before them. Citizens, particularly our young people of color, need to see that they have a chance to be nominated to sit on the esteemed bench. There are many areas in America where the bench is wholly unreflective of the area’s population. 

Diversity matters. As stated by Judge Carlton Reeves, “When our courts are diverse they better understand the complexities of the American experience embedded in every case before them.” Diverse courts reinforce public trust in the judicial system. In the words of Judge Bernice Donald, “A one dimensional court cannot grasp the many dimensions of American life.” 

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Accomplished, qualified, and impartial, either of these remarkable women of color would be an exceptional choice for our nation’s highest court, and the National Bar Association recommends them without reservation.