Ketanji Brown Jackson
Credit: U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia

Today, on April 7, 2022, Ketanji Brown Jackson became the first Black woman to serve on the United States Supreme Court. Jackson became an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States in 2022. President Joe Biden appointed Jackson to fill a vacancy created by the retirement of Justice Stephen Breyer.

Ketanji Onyika Brown was born on Sept. 14, 1970, in Washington, D.C. Brown’s family later relocated to Miami, Florida. Brown studied at Harvard University, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in government in 1992. She worked as a reporter and researcher for Time magazine from 1992 to 1993. Brown attended Harvard Law School, where she worked as an editor of the Harvard Law Review. She graduated from law school in 1996. The same year, she married the American surgeon Patrick Jackson.

From 1996 to 1998, Jackson served as a law clerk in the United States District Court of Massachusetts and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit. In 1999, she served as a law clerk to Justice Breyer. Jackson worked as an associate at several law firms and as a federal assistant public defender. In 2010, Jackson served as the vice chair of the U.S. Sentencing Commission, having been nominated to that position by President Barack Obama. On the commission, Jackson worked to decrease federal sentencing for certain charges. In 2012, Obama nominated Jackson to serve as a judge for the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia, a position she held from 2013 to 2021. In 2021, Biden nominated Jackson to serve as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia circuit.

Smoke rises from the National Assembly building of the South African Parliament in Cape Town, on Jan. 2, 2022. 
Credit: © Lyu Tianran, Xinhua/Alamy Images

South Africa’s Houses of Parliament in Cape Town caught fire on Sunday, Jan. 2, 2022. The flames started in a building next to the National Assembly and spread from there. More than 60 firefighters quickly responded to tame the flames. But the fire burned for hours. Strong winds reignited the flames on a roof on Monday, continuing the blaze into Tuesday morning.

The National Assembly chamber burned down and the roof of one building collapsed. The buildings were empty because Parliament was not in session. No one was injured.

Other parts of parliament were damaged severely by smoke and by water used to put out the fire. Offices of the African National Congress and National Freedom Party were destroyed. The buildings will not be habitable for some time. Parliament will meet in an alternative location, such as the city council chamber.

Security arrested Zandile Christmas Mafe on Sunday for starting the fire. He was charged with arson, housebreaking, theft, and possession of explosives in connection with the blaze.

South Africa’s Parliament consists of the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces. The South African Parliament meets in Cape Town, the country’s legislative capital. The National Assembly has at least 350 and no more than 400 members.

The National Council of Provinces is the upper house of South Africa’s Parliament, representing provincial interests at the national level. The National Council has 90 members.

Ben N. Campbell was a member of the United States Senate from 1993 to 2005. Campbell, a Republican, represented Colorado. Before becoming a senator, Campbell had served in the Colorado House of Representatives and the U.S. House of Representatives.
U.S. Senate

People in the United States observe Native American Heritage Month each year in November. During this period, many Native tribes celebrate their cultures, histories, and traditions. It is also a time to raise awareness of the challenges Indigenous people have faced in the past and today, along with their contributions to the United States as its first inhabitants.

Ben Nighthorse Campbell, a Northern Cheyenne chief, was a member of the United States Senate from 1993 to 2005. He represented Colorado. When he was elected, Campbell became the first Native American person since the late 1920′s to hold a U.S. Senate seat. Charles Curtis, whose mother was part Native American, served in the Senate from 1907 to 1913 and again from 1915 to 1929. Campbell was elected as a Democrat. In 1995, he switched to the Republican Party.

As a senator, Campbell focused on such issues as water conservation and environmental preservation. He worked to protect Colorado’s water resources.

Campbell was born on April 13, 1933, in Auburn, California. His father was Northern Cheyenne, and his mother was of Portuguese descent. Campbell served in the U.S. Air Force from 1951 to 1953. He earned a bachelor’s degree from San José State University in 1957. He also attended Meiji University in Tokyo. Campbell became a judo expert and was a member of the U.S. judo team in the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo. During the late 1960′s and the 1970′s, he built a successful business as a jewelry designer and jewelry maker and became a resident of Colorado.

Campbell was elected to the Colorado House of Representatives in 1982. He served from 1983 until 1986, when he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. He won reelection to the U.S. House in 1988 and 1990. In 1992, he was elected to the U.S. Senate, and he took office in 1993. He was reelected in 1998.

In 2004, Campbell announced that because of concerns about his health he would not seek reelection that year to the Senate. His final term as senator ended in January 2005.

Air Force troops in the Afghan mountains
Credit: U.S. Air Force

President Joe Biden stuck to a deadline of Aug. 31, 2021, for the withdrawal of the remaining United States troops from Afghanistan. The withdrawal brought the 20-year Afghanistan War to a close and completed a rapid retaking of the country by the Taliban, a militant Sunni Islamic political group.

As U.S. and NATO troops began their withdrawal earlier in the year, Taliban attacks aimed at expanding the group’s control over additional territory increased. Hundreds of thousands of Afghans fled. The Afghan National Security Forces eventually collapsed before the advance, despite years of support and training by NATO and U.S. forces. In August, Taliban forces took over additional territory, including several major cities. On August 15, they entered and took control of the capital, Kabul. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fled the country.

The United States quickly sent additional troops to Kabul. They were to secure and oversee the operation of the city’s airport during the evacuation of U.S. and NATO personnel, along with Afghan allies and their families. On August 26, a suicide bombing and gunfire attack killed at least 170 people in the large crowd waiting to enter the airport. The victims also included 13 U.S. troops. The militant group ISIS-K (Islamic State Khorason—a branch of the Islamic State terrorist organization) claimed responsibility for the attack. Nevertheless, the evacuations continued. About 123,000 civilians were evacuated on U.S. and coalition flights before the United States completed the withdrawal of its last military troops on August 30.

The Afghanistan War began in 2001. It started as a short but intense war in which the United States and its allies battled the Taliban. International forces overthrew the Taliban regime and helped establish a new government in Afghanistan.

The conflict persisted in the years that followed, however, as the United States and its allies struggled to establish stability in the country. The war eventually became the longest deployment of American combat troops in U.S. history. Since the beginning of the Afghanistan War, more than 3,500 coalition soldiers, mostly Americans, have died in Afghanistan.

In 2013, international troops shifted into a supporting role. Nearly 10,000 U.S. troops remained in such noncombat roles as training Afghan soldiers, advising Afghan army units, and helping maintain equipment. In 2014, NATO and the United States formally ended their combat missions in Afghanistan. However, the Taliban increased their presence in the following years, and security forces continued to battle the insurgents. An additional 3,000 U.S. troops were sent in 2017 on combat duty.

In 2018, U.S. and Taliban representatives began negotiating the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan. They signed an agreement in 2020. The Taliban agreed not to allow such terrorist organizations as al-Qa`ida and the Islamic State (ISIS) to operate from bases in Afghanistan, and the United States agreed to a gradual withdrawal of the approximately 13,000 troops it had in the country at that time. Several thousand NATO troops also remained in the country, providing noncombat assistance to Afghan security forces. Nevertheless, fighting between Afghan government forces and the Taliban continued, leading up to the U.S. withdrawal and the government’s collapse.

Kathy Hochul, governor of New York

Kathy Hochul became the first woman governor of New York state on Aug. 24, 2021. Hochul, a Democrat and the state’s former lieutenant governor, replaced Governor Andrew Cuomo, who resigned under investigation for sexual harassment. She has held a variety of local, state, and federal government positions.

Kathleen Courtney was born Aug. 27, 1958, in Buffalo, New York. She spent summer vacations volunteering for local politicians. She graduated from Syracuse University in 1980 with a bachelor of arts degree in political science. She completed a law degree from the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., three years later. In 1984, she married the American lawyer William Hochul. Kathy Hochul spent nearly a decade working as a private practice attorney and legislative aide in Washington, D.C., before moving back to New York.

Hochul’s political career began in 1994, as a member of the town board for Hamburg, New York. After nine years on the board, she was appointed deputy clerk of Erie County. In 2007, she was appointed by Governor Eliot Spitzer to fill a vacancy as Erie County clerk. She was reelected to the office later that year, serving until 2011. In that year, she was elected U.S. representative for New York’s 26th Congressional District. She replaced Representative Christopher Lee, a Republican, following his resignation. Hochul’s win was unexpected in the traditionally Republican district.

Hochul served as representative from 2011 to 2013. She lost reelection in 2012 to Republican Chris Collins. Following her defeat, Hochul joined the private sector, serving as vice president for government relations at M&T Bank.

Hochul ran for lieutenant governor in 2014, eventually joining a ticket with Cuomo. During her time as lieutenant governor, Hochul spearheaded a campaign against sexual assaults on college campuses, under the slogan “Enough Is Enough.” She also was appointed by Cuomo to chair the state’s Heroin and Opioid Task Force, along with a number of regional investment councils.

Credit: © Manny DaCunha, Shutterstock

The Fourth of July is Independence Day in the United States. The day marks the nation’s birthday, July 4, 1776, when delegates to the Second Continental Congress, meeting in Philadelphia, adopted the Declaration of Independence.

The delegates represented the 13 British colonies, which had come to resent the ever-increasing taxes and restrictions that King George III sought to impose on them. In April 1775, British troops had clashed with colonial militia at Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts, in effect signaling the outbreak of the American Revolution. The Declaration of Independence explained the reasons for the colonists’ rejection of British rule, detailed the ways in which the British government had violated American rights, and declared the freedom of the American colonies from Britain. The American Revolution ended in 1783 when Britain recognized the independence of the United States.

July 4 is traditionally a day of patriotism and celebration, including a full menu of picnics or cookouts and fireworks, with popular side dishes of baseball, fairs, parades, and parties. Last year, public celebrations of the holiday were largely absent, as people followed social distancing measures intended to stem the COVID-19 pandemic. This year, with widespread vaccinations putting the disease in retreat in many areas, fireworks and other public displays have largely returned.

The Fourth of July isn’t just a day for celebration, however. It’s also a good time to reflect on the promise of freedom outlined in the Declaration of Independence and to think about how various groups are still struggling to achieve that freedom. In a year that followed worldwide protests over the killing of George Floyd, many people are choosing to make the Fourth not only a celebration of our nation’s history but a time of reflection and preparation for its future.

Dr. Rachel Levine.
Credit: © Daniel Shanken, Reuters/Alamy Images

June is LGBTQ+ Pride Month. All month long, Behind the Headlines will feature lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer or questioning pioneers in a variety of areas.

Summertime celebrates joy and growth; spring brings new beginnings. This spring, Rachel Levine made history when she became the first openly transgender person to be confirmed to a federal government position by the United States Senate. Transgender is a term for individuals whose identity or self-expression does not match their assigned gender. In January 2021, President Joe Biden nominated Levine, an American physician, for assistant secretary for health for the Department of Health and Human Services. Levine was confirmed on March 24, 2021.

Born Richard Levine in Melrose, Massachusetts, north of Boston, on Oct. 28, 1957, Levine was assigned male at birth. Levine grew up in nearby Wakefield, Massachusetts. After graduating from Harvard University with an undergraduate degree, Levine attended Tulane University School of Medicine. Levine moved to New York City to train in pediatrics and adolescent medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital. In 1993, Levine accepted a position at the Polyclinic Medical Center in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Three years later, in 1996, Levine began working at the Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center in Hershey. Around 2010, Levine began publicly presenting herself as a woman.

In 2015, Levine was named Pennsylvania’s physician general. Three years later, she was named Pennsylvania’s secretary of health. As a state official, Levine focused her efforts on maternal health, immunization, and the opioid drug-abuse crisis.

A woman carries the Pan-African flag, a symbol of Black unity, at a Juneteenth parade in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Juneteenth celebrations commemorate the freeing of slaves in Galveston, Texas, on June 19, 1865.
Credit: © Tippman98x/Shutterstock

June 19 is Juneteenth, a festival held in many Black and other communities to commemorate the end of slavery in the United States. The name of the festival refers to the date, June 19—the day the last slaves were freed in the southern state of Texas in 1865. Juneteenth festivities often include plays and storytelling, parades, prayer services, and family reunions. Some communities hold longer Juneteenth festivals spanning several days as a celebration of civil rights and freedom.

People wait for floats to pass by during a parade celebrating Juneteenth in the historically Black town of Bastrop, near Austin, Texas USA. Credit: © Bob Daemmrich, Alamy Images

Last year’s Juneteenth looked different than celebrations past, because of the ongoing pandemic (global outbreak) of the coronavirus disease COVID-19. This year, festive Juneteenth celebrations have resumed in many places. Parades and festivals throughout the country will commemorate and celebrate Black life in America. If attending crowded events does not yet feel safe to you, you can celebrate Juneteenth by supporting Black-owned businesses, including stores and restaurants.

One way the national government is celebrating Juneteenth this year and for years to come is by making it a federal holiday. This week, Congress passed and President Joe Biden signed into law a bill to officially recognize Juneteenth each year.

Juneteenth originated in Texas at the end of the American Civil War (1861-1865). In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which declared freedom for the slaves in Confederate states in rebellion against the Union. However, many slave owners in Texas suppressed information about the emancipation even after the war ended in April 1865. On June 19, Gordon Granger, a Union general, entered Galveston, Texas, and ordered all slaves in the state to be freed. About 250,000 people, among the last slaves remaining in the United States, were freed.

Juneteenth celebrations were held only in Texas and a few communities in other southern states in the years following the Civil War. Black people carried the celebration with them, however, as they migrated to other regions of the country. The push to make Juneteenth a federal holiday gained momentum in 2020, during the widespread Black Lives Matter protests that followed the police killing of George Floyd.

In the United States, June—the first month of summer—is celebrated as LGBTQ+ Pride Month. LGBTQ+ stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer or Questioning. The “+” represents other sexual identities. Transgender individuals are those whose identity or self-expression does not match the gender assigned to them at birth.

Throughout June, cities across the nation host concerts, festivals, colorful parades, parties, and other events that honor the identity, contributions, and historical impact of LGBTQ+ people. June is also the month in 2015 when the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that states could not ban same-sex marriage.

The rainbow flag has symbolized the LGBTQ+ community since the late 1970′s. Credit: © Natasha Kramskaya, Shutterstock

Historically, LGBTQ+ Pride Month commemorates the Stonewall uprising, a series of demonstrations for gay rights that took place in New York City in late June and early July 1969. The demonstrations were in response to a police raid at the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan. Following the raid, bar patrons and other supporters began a series of riots that lasted, on and off, for several days.

The Stonewall uprising was an important part of the change happening in the gay rights movement at the time. In the late 1960’s and early 1970’s, this movement grew in size and strength. Gay rights activists created new organizations and developed political strategies still used today. The Stonewall uprising also inspired gay rights activists in other countries. In 2000, the U.S. Department of the Interior designated the Stonewall Inn and the surrounding streets a national historic landmark. In 2016, U.S. President Barack Obama designated the Stonewall Inn as a national monument.

An activist for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer or questioning (LGBTQ+) rights waves a rainbow flag in front of the Supreme Court Building in Washington, D.C. The rainbow flag is a symbol of LGBTQ+ pride. Credit: © AP Photo

The early 2000’s saw significant advances in LGBTQ+ rights. For example, more than a dozen countries, including Canada, the United States, New Zealand, South Africa, and a number of European and South American nations legalized same-sex marriage. In 2010 and 2016, respectively, the U.S. government ended its ban on openly gay and transgender people serving in the military. And in 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that same-sex spouses were entitled to receive the same federal benefits as heterosexual (different-sex) spouses.

LGBTQ+ Pride Month developed from LGBTQ+ Pride Day, celebrated on the last Sunday in June. In 2000, U.S. President Bill Clinton proclaimed June Gay and Lesbian Pride Month. Likewise, every year from 2009 through 2016, President Barack Obama officially proclaimed June LGBTQ+ Pride Month. From 2017 to 2020, President Donald Trump did not issue such a proclamation. In 2021, President Joe Biden proclaimed June LGBTQ+ Pride Month.

United States Senator Tammy Duckworth
Credit: U.S. Congress

May is Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month. All month long, Behind the Headlines will feature AAPI pioneers in a variety of areas.

Tammy Duckworth, a Democrat from Illinois, was elected to the United States Senate in 2016. As a senator, she has been a champion for civil rights, environmental justice, and veterans’ affairs.

Ladda Tammy Duckworth was born in Bangkok, Thailand, on March 12, 1968, to a Thai mother and an American father. Her father had been serving in Southeast Asia in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War (1957-1975). When Tammy Duckworth was a child, the family moved around the region while her father worked with the United Nations and private corporations. She became fluent in Thai, Indonesian, and English. The family later moved to Hawaii, where Duckworth finished high school. She earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Hawaii (also spelled University of Hawai‘i) in 1989.

Duckworth joined the Army Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) in 1990 while working on a master’s degree in international affairs at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. She completed her degree in 1992. That year, she also got her commission as a reserve officer and trained as an army helicopter pilot. In 1996, while studying for a doctorate in political science at Northern Illinois University, she transferred to the Illinois National Guard. She later completed a doctorate in human services at Capella University, an online-based school.

In 2004, while Duckworth was still a student at Northern Illinois, her National Guard regiment was sent to Iraq. On November 12, her helicopter was shot down by a rocket-propelled grenade. She lost both legs and some of the use of her right arm. In December, she was awarded a Purple Heart for her injuries. The Purple Heart is a medal given to soldiers of the U.S. armed forces who are wounded or killed in combat. Following a lengthy recovery, Duckworth began working for better medical care for veterans. In 2006, she ran unsuccessfully for an Illinois seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich then named her director of the Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs. In 2009, President Barack Obama appointed her assistant secretary of Veterans Affairs.

In 2012, Duckworth was elected to the U.S. House, representing a district in the Chicago suburbs. She was reelected in 2014. Also in 2014, she retired from the Army Reserves, having achieved the rank of lieutenant colonel. In 2016, Duckworth defeated incumbent Republican Senator Mark Kirk to win a seat in the U.S. Senate.

Duckworth married Bryan Bowlsbey, an officer in the Army National Guard, in 1993. In 2018, she became the first sitting U.S. senator to give birth when she delivered a daughter, Maile Pearl. The couple’s first child, Abigail, was born in 2014, while Duckworth was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. Duckworth’s memoir, Every Day is a Gift, was published in 2021.