
Image source: Video screenshot
'Clearly, Republicans only ask black people about CRT'
During Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson's Supreme Court confirmation hearing on Tuesday, Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) grilled Jackson about her views on critical race theory.
Jackson first denied ever having studied critical race theory and claimed it “doesn’t come up in the work that I do as a judge.”
"I've never studied critical race theory, and I've never used it. It doesn't come up in the work that I do as a judge," Jackson stated.
"With respect, I find that a curious statement," Cruz responded. He then read a quote from her saying that critical race theory is, in fact, part of her work as judge during a speech at the University of Chicago in 2015.
"[S]entencing is just plain interesting ... because it melds together myriad types of of law — criminal law ... constitutional law, [and] critical race theory ..." read Jackson's quote, according to Cruz.
"You described, in a speech to a law school, what you were doing as critical race theory," Cruz said. "So, I guess I would ask, what did you mean by that?"
Jackson said she was not talking about "sentencing" in her quote, but "sentencing policy," and repeated that "none of that relates to what I do as a judge."
.@tedcruz grills Judge Jackson on her stance on critical race theory.pic.twitter.com/RxXV22Zr4p— MRCTV (@MRCTV) 1647975614
Cruz then moved on to discussing Ibram X. Kendi’s children’s book, “Antiracist Baby.” Jackson is on the Board of Trustees at Georgetown Day School — a private school in Washington, D.C. — that Cruz claims assigns Kendi's book to students as young as four years old.
Not \u201cin the library.\u201d ASSIGNED to kids aged 4-7.https://twitter.com/forbes/status/1506347875428614145\u00a0\u2026— Ted Cruz (@Ted Cruz) 1647976978
Pointing out that in “Antiracist Baby” Kendi says children should confess when being racist, Cruz asked Jackson, “Do you agree with this book that’s being taught with kids that babies are racist?"
After a long pause, Jackson answered, “I do not believe that any child should be made to feel as though they are racist, or as though they are not valued, or that they are less than, that they are victims, that they are oppressors. I don’t believe in any of that.”
Quite a few folks on Twitter took exception to Cruz's line of questioning:
Cruz would not ask Jackson about CRT if she were not Black. That is flat out racist.— Jennifer 'I stand with Ukraine' Rubin \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@Jennifer 'I stand with Ukraine' Rubin \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6) 1647978545
Right? How dare he ask her about an actual legal theory. And clearly, Republicans only ask black people about CRT. Not like it was at the center of the VA governor's race between two white dudes.https://twitter.com/JRubinBlogger/status/1506357317671043081\u00a0\u2026— Bonchie (@Bonchie) 1647979610
The libs: You can't talk about critical race theory outside of a legal context.\n\nCruz: OK, I'll ask a Supreme Court nominee about critical race theory.\n\nThe libs: No, that's racist.\n\nShould Cruz ask her about her high school yearbook?https://twitter.com/JordanUhl/status/1506344710176219151\u00a0\u2026— Max (@Max) 1647979902
Others took issue with Jackson's answers:
Ketanji Brown Jackson told @tedcruz she has "never studied critical race theory," but she has cited the founder of critical race theory, Derrick Bell, and endorsed its core concepts, including white privilege and intersectionality, in her speeches.\n\nShe is lying.pic.twitter.com/GPcrDdJlCQ— Christopher F. Rufo \u2694\ufe0f (@Christopher F. Rufo \u2694\ufe0f) 1647979246