CLEVELAND — "I wish people understood how amazing this is."
Stephanie Goggans proudly served her country before heading to Cleveland State's law school. To her, Ketanji Brown Jackson securing a seat on the United States Supreme Court is a moment for all Americans.
"I'm proud," Goggans said. "She deserves this, she's worked for this, and it re-enforces this concept that if you work hard and you commit and you endure — sometimes it's justified, sometimes it's not — you can rise."
Both Goggans and Case Western law student Sierra Lipscomb talked about the power of having a role model in a position of power and how they believe it can encourage both children and adults to reach for their ambitions. Even though Lipscomb's 7-month-old daughter might be a little too young to fully understand, the impact remains.
"I'm just excited to share this news; she's not going to know what's going on," Lipscomb commented. "I'm excited to share this news with my daughter, and through her babbling, she's able to get 'Oh wow, something great has happened.'"
Lipscomb's emotions Thursday are very different than when we first checked in with her, as Jackson was going through the hearing process. She felt some of the questions distracted from the judge's resume.
"It felt like that was not at center stage during the confirmation hearings," she lamented, "and so now I feel like I can breathe easily a sigh of relief that, 'Oh, okay, she is confirmed.'"
Both women say they hope people can get inspiration, but also motivation, with this historic vote. As of right now, less than 5% of attorneys in the United States are Black, and fewer than 2% of people named to a federal court seat are Black women.