On their first date in 2004, University of Virginia law professor Kimberly Jenkins Robinson told her eventual husband, UVA professor of practice in public policy and law Gerard Robinson, “My law school roommate is going to be the first Black woman on the Supreme Court.”
She was right. On June 30, 2022, Ketanji Brown Jackson was sworn in as a United States Supreme Court associate justice, succeeding retiring Justice Stephen Breyer.
Jackson, Ismail Ramsey and Robinson smile for the camera after graduating from Harvard Law School in 1996. (Contributed photo)
Robinson and Jackson attended Harvard Law School together and served on the Harvard Law Review before graduating in 1996. They have remained dear friends.
On Sept. 18, Jackson is coming to UVA at Robinson’s invitation to read from her book, “Lovely One: A Memoir,” about her family’s origins in the segregated South and her ascent to the country’s highest court. Jackson’s reading will be followed by a conversation between Jackson and Robinson.
UVA’s Education Rights Institute, founded by Robinson, is presenting the program, titled “Reflections on Education with Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson.” The institute, housed in the School of Law, works to advance equal educational opportunity by equipping educators and policymakers to recognize and close opportunity gaps by delivering a high-quality public education that prepares students to be college- and career-ready and engaged civic participants. It also supports educator capacity to interpret and implement protections against discrimination based on race, color and national origin.
