It put her on the path to success in law and in life. That鈥檚 how U.S. Supreme Court nominee has described her time on the speech and debate team at Miami Palmetto Senior High School.
鈥淚 learned how to reason and how to write. And I gained the self confidence that can sometimes be quite difficult for women and minorities to develop at an early age,鈥� Jackson said during a at the University of Georgia in 2017.
The Miami native is making history as the first Black woman to be nominated to the nation鈥檚 highest court. Monday marked the start of Jackson's before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
鈥淚t was my high school experience as a competitive speaker that taught me how to lean in despite the obstacles,鈥� Jackson said.
For students on the school鈥檚 debate team now, Jackson鈥檚 historic nomination is changing the way they see themselves and each other.
It鈥檚 not that much of an exaggeration to say one of these kids could become a U.S. Supreme Court justice.
At least that鈥檚 been the feeling at the Palmetto Senior High speech and debate club, ever since Ketanji Brown Jackson was nominated by President Biden.
鈥淚t could be any one of us that could be sort of the next Ms. Brown,鈥� said Paul Yan, co-president of the club. 鈥淲e were looking through the yearbooks ... and we saw all her photos. So that's really very eye-opening. I feel like it's very meaningful for a lot of students here as well. Because coming from minority status, to see someone in power is very life-changing.鈥�
Yan and his co-president Anna Liu are both Chinese American.
鈥淚 think it's just really exciting that she comes from a background not so different from a lot of us,鈥� Liu said.
These students had dreams long before they heard about Jackson. But the nomination of a fellow Palmetto debater to the U.S. Supreme Court is making them dream bigger.
鈥淚 think it just makes me reevaluate where I am in my life and like where I could be. And also just look at my peers with a new light, because I'm just really excited for all that we can accomplish.鈥�Anna Liu
Liu is a senior and will be heading off to college soon with plans to study computer engineering. She said there are some promising underclassmen she鈥檒l be keeping her eye on 鈥� maybe for decades to come.
On the day SA国际传谋 visited Palmetto Senior High, a dozen members of the team gathered in Mr. Silvio Vargas鈥� history classroom for a mock debate. The topic: Is civil disobedience morally justifiable within a democracy?
鈥淭hey鈥檙e in pairs right now and they鈥檙e sort of developing arguments in favor and against,鈥� explained the club's vice president Jason Salguero. 鈥淏ecause in debate competitions you don鈥檛 know which one 鈥� you don鈥檛 know which side you鈥檙e going to get until you get there.鈥�
Sophomore Virginia Martinez-Rodriguez and senior Aiden Kong faced off, flipping a coin to see which side they would take. Martinez-Rodriguez made her case first, arguing that civil disobedience is not only defensible but vital.
鈥淚t benefits the people. It benefits society,鈥� Martinez-Rodriguez argued. 鈥淚t is a disruption of the peace and order to inform the government and tell the government that we will not stand with something that goes against its own people. That it exists to serve us.鈥�
Kong pushed back, questioning whether violent resistance should be justified as well.
鈥淐ivil disobedience poses a threat to the rule of law. Because in the end, even though it鈥檚 meant to push certain ideas forward, it is breaking the law,鈥� Kong countered.
It鈥檚 during practices like this that students learn how to stand up and defend themselves 鈥� and how to take criticism.
Condoleezza Alexis is a sophomore who joined debate this year.
鈥淓ver since I've joined I feel like I've become more of a confident person,鈥� said Alexis. 鈥淎nd it's really affirmed my belief that I want to be a lawyer and that this is something that I want to pursue when I get older.鈥�
She says the club has made her more sure of herself and what she wants 鈥� just like it did for Ketanji Brown Jackson.
鈥淪he is a woman of color who went to Palmetto and so am I. And although I don't really want to go into politics per se, I still find her story kind of a similar introductory for mine.鈥�Condoleezza Alexis
Jackson has talked about the bias and exclusion she faced at the school in the predominantly white, wealthy suburb of Pinecrest. Alexis says she鈥檚 had her own struggles fitting in there.
But knowing that Jackson walked these same halls makes Alexis believe that could be her one day.
鈥淪eeing her get that far and knowing that it is possible for not only me to get that far, but for any Black woman to get as far as she can, as she did, as long as you try hard enough 鈥� it's really inspirational."
She feels like she鈥檚 watching barriers that have oppressed people of color for centuries come down in real time.
Jackson isn鈥檛 only showing Alexis how to break through one of the highest ceilings in American politics, but how to just navigate high school.
And if Alexis can do that, who knows where she鈥檒l be 30 years from now.
