For Jackson, an outpouring of fan mail and other tokens of admiration

Ketanji Brown Jackson’s history-making confirmation as the nation’s first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court inspired an outpouring of letters from schoolchildren throughout the country, colorful artwork and even a crocheted doll of the new justice, complete with tiny glasses, a string of pearls and black robe.

“More than anything, your position has brought me joy. I screamed down our school halls with joy!” wrote a high-school teacher from Los Angeles.

“I think it’s cool you followed your dreams and did what you wanted without other people telling you what to do,” wrote a third-grader in a letter decorated with a rainbowcolored courthouse. “I bet it feels good to be the first.”

Jackson allowed The Washington Post a glimpse of some of the mail and other tokens of appreciation that have arrived at her judicial chambers at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit since she was confirmed to the Supreme Court by the Senate in April.

Hundreds of letters, enough to fill a mail bin, and other mementos are being sorted and organized

to be stored in the justice’s personal archive at the Supreme Court.

“You are the start of justice!” wrote a thirdgrade student in a letter illustrated with the scales of justice favoring women over men.

Jackson, a federal judge in D.C. for the past decade and a former federal public defender, is the eighth justice in the court’s 233year history who is not a White man. She officially became a justice on Thursday afternoon in a small ceremony at the court, surrounded by her family and new colleagues — and by the retiring justice she

replaces, Stephen Breyer.

The daughter of a school principal and an attorney, Jackson grew up in South Miami-Dade, where she was a debate champion at Palmetto High before attending Harvard. Her ascension to the Supreme Court does not significantly alter its 6-3 conservative bent because Jackson is replacing a liberal justice for whom she once was a law clerk.

But when Jackson takes the bench in the fall, the court will for the first time have four women.

The fan mail sent to her chambers reflected excitement over the milestone.

“You have set a standard for other women of color to follow!” wrote one highschooler. Added another: “About time!”

CAROLYN VAN HOUTEN The Washington Post A crochet doll version of Ketanji Brown Jackson was sent from a woman named Charlotte in Texas. Jackson is the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court.

CAROLYN VAN HOUTEN The Washington Post Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s historic nomination to the Supreme Court inspired letters, art and other tributes, such as these cards from a third-grade class.

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