Children shouldn't be made to feel like 'victims' or 'oppressors,' Ketanji Brown Jackson tells Ted Cruz

Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson said during Tuesday's confirmation hearings that she does not believe children should be shamed because of their race, after Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) confronted Jackson about her position on the board of a progressive private school.
Cruz showed images and read excerpts from several books that are part of the curriculum at Georgetown Day School and that he said promote critical race theory, including Critical Race Theory: An Introduction by Richard Delgado and Jean Stefancic, The End of Policing by Alex Vitale, and Antiracist Baby by Ibram X. Kendi.
"Do you agree ... that babies are racist," Cruz asked.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"Senator," Jackson said, "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 [as] though they are less than, that they are victims, that they are oppressors. I don't believe in any of that."
"Georgetown Day School," Jackson continued, "just like the religious school that Justice [Amy Coney] Barrett was on the board of, is a private school." Barrett served on the board of the classical Christian school network Trinity Schools from 2015 until 2017.
"So you agree critical race theory is taught at Georgetown Day School?" Cruz asked.
Jackson said she didn't know because the board is not in charge of setting the school's curriculum. She also said the issues he was raising "don't come up in my work as a judge, which I am — respectfully — here to address."
On Monday, the Republican Party's official Twitter account posted a gif associating Jackson with critical race theory and linking to a list of "Important Questions" for Jackson about CRT. None of the questions on the list mentioned Jackson's association with Georgetown Day School.
The GOP's tweet was widely condemned as racist.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Grayson Quay was the weekend editor at TheWeek.com. His writing has also been published in National Review, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Modern Age, The American Conservative, The Spectator World, and other outlets. Grayson earned his M.A. from Georgetown University in 2019.
-
Missionaries using tech to contact Amazon's Indigenous people
Wealthy US-backed evangelical groups are sending drones to reach remote and uncontacted tribes, despite legal prohibitions
-
August 3 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Sunday’s political cartoons include a human data center, Donald Trump's enterprising spirit, and more
-
5 darkly funny cartoons about Israel blocking aid to Gaza
Cartoons Artists take on forcing famine, avoiding aid, and more
-
How China uses 'dark fleets' to circumvent trade sanctions
The Explainer The fleets are used to smuggle goods like oil and fish
-
Thailand, Cambodia agree to ceasefire in border fight
Speed Read At least 38 people were killed and more than 300,000 displaced in the recent violence
-
Israel 'pauses' Gaza military activity as aid outcry grows
Speed Read The World Health Organization said malnutrition has reached 'alarming levels' in Gaza
-
US and EU reach trade deal
Speed Read Trump's meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen resulted in a tariff agreement that will avert a transatlantic trade war
-
At least 12 dead in Thai-Cambodian clashes
Speed Read Both countries accused the other of firing first
-
US and Japan strike trade deal
Speed Read Trump signed what he's calling the 'largest deal ever made'
-
28 nations condemn Israel's 'inhumane killing' in Gaza
Speed Read Countries including Australia, France, Japan and the U.K. have released a joint statement condemning Israel's ongoing attacks
-
Israeli gunfire kills dozens at Gaza aid site
Speed Read The U.N. estimates that at least 875 Palestinians have died while trying to access food in recent months