How MLK paved the way for KBJ | Opinion

A little more than a week ago, the Senate confirmation hearings for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court concluded.

There were tears. There was laughter. There was insightful dialogue. And there were exchanges that were sometimes absurd and insulting.

But the nominee endured the four days of hearings with grace, patience, and perseverance that attracted admiration from both sides of the aisle.

» READ MORE: Biden’s Supreme Court pick offers lessons on representation for Pa. judiciary | Opinion

During the process, the words and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. were invoked dozens of times. Sometimes the references to King were inspirational, and sometimes cringe-worthy. But if confirmed, Judge Jackson would be the first Black woman named to the court in the 233-year history of this judicial branch. That fact alone would certainly embody the dream that King lived, fought, and died for.

The Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to meet on Monday to vote on Judge Jackson’s nomination, which will advance the process to the full floor. This date also marks the anniversary of King’s assassination while he was standing on the balcony of a Memphis, Tenn., hotel on a spring evening in 1968.

For more than a dozen years, Philadelphians have commemorated this tragic event by gathering at the foot of the Benjamin Franklin Bridge during the early morning hours and then walking to its pinnacle to offer a prayer for peace at sunrise. The pandemic made that a challenge over the last two years, but the convergence of dates of the Senate vote with the King anniversary has prompted a return to this tradition — with an important twist.

Instead of the bridge, folks are planning to gather at sunrise around the statue of Octavius V. Catto — a civil rights activist who was killed fighting for voters’ rights more than 150 years ago in the streets of Philadelphia. Were it not for the sacrifice of individuals like Catto, King would not have dared to dream of a time when a judge named Ketanji would sit on the bench of the highest court in the land.

The significance of the day cannot be overlooked. It’s so easy to be distracted by the latest social media post or our recent obsession with who slapped whom and what the consequences of that ridiculous act might be.

This laborious process of a Supreme Court nominee has real consequences, and we have to keep our eye on that prize.

So, as the sun rises on Monday, we’ll be in place to welcome the promise of a new day.

We’ll gather and stand in silence for 233 seconds — one second for each of the 233 years that have existed since the Supreme Court has been without a Black female judge.

We’ll be linked together to signify our unity of purpose and pray for a positive outcome as the Senate moves closer to making history happen.

But prayer alone won’t be enough. Instead, it takes action, vigilance, and a perseverance that pushes through barriers intent on crafting a different outcome.

King knew that anything worth having was worth fighting for, and the urgency of the battle would help determine the passion of the pursuit.

Exactly a year to the day before he was killed, King talked about the “fierce urgency of now” in a speech given at the Riverside Church in New York. He spoke of the challenges yet to come in the struggle ahead: “We are now faced with the fact that tomorrow is today. We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now. In this unfolding conundrum of life and history, there is such a thing as being too late. Procrastination is still the thief of time. Life often leaves us standing bare, naked, and dejected with a lost opportunity. … Over the bleached bones and jumbled residue of numerous civilizations are written the pathetic words: ‘Too late.’”

So as the next chapter of history unfolds, only time will tell how wisely it’s spent shaping the future yet ahead of us.

The Rev. David W. Brown is chair of the advisory board of Global Citizen and one of the cofounders of the MLK Bridge Walk for Peace.