Ketanji Brown Jackson's confirmation hearing: Day 1

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson told senators that she takes "my duty to be independent very seriously.”

Jackson called her judicial role “limited” and “constrained.”

While acknowledging the hundred of written decisions she penned can be long, she said “that people should know precisely what I think and the basis for my decision.”

Her experiences in law have “instilled in me the importance of having each litigant know that the judge in their case has heard them, whether or not their arguments prevail in court.”

At least two GOP senators invoked another notable Black jurist during their opening statements Monday, using left-wing resistance to Janice Rogers Brown in 2003 to make the case that potential opposition to Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson isn't about race.

In 2003, Brown, who was then a California state Supreme Court judge, was nominated by then-President George W. Bush to a Washington-based US appellate court long regarded as a steppingstone to the Supreme Court. But Democrats, including then-Sen. Joe Biden, stalled her nomination for nearly two years and effectively ensured she was shunned in 2005 when Bush had a chance to fill two seats on the high court.

Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas said during the hearing that “we will see Democrats in the media suggest that any senator that is skeptical of your nomination, that questions you vigorously or that dares to vote against you must somehow harbor racial animus.”

“If that were the standard, I would note we are sitting on a committee where multiple members of this committee — the senior Democrats in the committee — happily filibustered Judge Janice Rogers Brown,” he added.

When Brown was confirmed, CNN reported that her opponents were particularly critical of her views on corporate liability and abortion rights. Then-Democratic Minority Whip Dick Durbin of Illinois called her "one of President Bush's most ideological and extreme judicial nominees.” Durbin is now the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Brown’s nomination to the DC Circuit was also opposed by a litany of leading civil rights groups, including the NAACP.

“We would like to urge you in the strongest possible terms to vote against this nomination, which represents a regressive step in the historic struggle for civil and equal rights,” Hilary Shelton, the then-president of the NAACP’s Washington bureau, wrote to the committee in 2003.

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson saved a "special moment" in her opening statement to acknowledge her daughters, Talia and Leila.

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson recalled the mentors who helped her believe in herself, like Fran Berger, her high school debate coach.

Of Justice Stephen Breyer, the justice whom she clerked for and who she may replace, she said he “exemplifies what it means of the highest level of skill and integrity, civility, and grace.”

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson said her father helped inspired her pursuit in law, during his study of law while she was a young girl.

“My very earliest memories are of watching my father study — he had his stack of law books on the kitchen table while I sat across from him with my stack of coloring books,” she said.

She noted the path her brother Ketajh took into public service as a police officer. As for her husband of 25 years, Patrick, who is a doctor and whom she met in college.

“I have no doubt that, without him by my side from the very beginning of this incredible professional journey, none of this would have been possible,” she said.

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson emphasized the gratitude she felt, as part of her faith, and towards the sacrifices of her family.

She affirmed her thanks “to God, for it is faith that sustains me at this moment. "

Among her blessing, she was born “in this great Nation” in 1970, a decade after Congress enacted civil rights legislation.

“Like so many who had experienced lawful racial segregation first-hand, my parents, Johnny and Ellery Brown, left their hometown of Miami, Florida, and came to Washington DC, to experience new freedom,” Jackson said.

She noted the long hours of work and sacrifice of her parents “to provide their children every opportunity to reach their God-given potential.”

Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson is delivering her opening statement before the Senate Judiciary Committee during her historic confirmation hearings.

If confirmed, Jackson would become the first Black woman justice.

"During this hearing, I hope that you will see how much I love our country and the Constitution and the rights that make us free," Jackson told the committee.

This morning, Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, opened the hearing by putting Jackson's nomination in historical context, noting that of 115 Supreme Court justices, 108 have been White men.

"Not a single justice has been a Black woman," Durbin said. "You, Judge Jackson, can be the first."

"It's not easy being the first," he added. "But your presence here today, your willingness to brave this process, will give inspiration to millions of Americans who see themselves in you."

CNN's Alex Rogers contributed reporting to this post.

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson was sworn in by the Senate Judiciary Committee as she prepares to present her opening statement and go through the hearing process for her Supreme Court nomination.

Democrats praised what Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson's nomination will mean for the Americans who have not seen themselves represented on the country’s highest court. Republicans cautioned that their skepticism of her had nothing to do with her race.

“We will see Democrats and the media suggest that any senator that is skeptical of your nomination, that questions you vigorously, or that dares to vote against you must somehow harbor racial animus,” Texas GOP Sen. Ted Cruz said.

Several Democrats said that her presence on the Supreme Court will increase the trust a diverse public place in it.

“Your presence here today, your willingness to brave this process will give inspiration to millions of Americans who see themselves in you,” Illinois Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin said, while noting the rally in Jackson’s support near the Capitol Monday. “There were so many young African American women and law students there seeing your pursuit as part of their dream.”

New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker’s opening statement was a particularly poignant reflection of the moment, as the committee’s sole Black member told Jackson her nomination “is not normal.”

“We are on the precipice of shattering another ceiling,” Booker said. “It's a sign that we as a country are continuing to rise to our collective cherished highest ideals

Sen. Alex Padilla of California, who gave a portion of his remarks in Spanish, noted how “Breaking barriers and being the first means not just significant opportunity, but tremendous responsibility,” he told Jackson that she was “equipped with a tremendous record of experience and accomplishment and you are ready to blaze this trail.”

“A trail that your grandparents may have found unfathomable, but one that your daughters and my sons and future generations will now see as a natural part of the American story,” Padilla said.

South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, the second Republican on the committee to speak, acknowledged the historic moment, and told the committee “count me in on the idea of making the court more diverse.”

But he also referenced lower court GOP nominees of color who were opposed by Democrats.

“It is about philosophy when it’s somebody of color on our side,” Graham said, adding that “it’s not going to fly” if hard questions about Jackson’s philosophy are deemed racist.

Other Senate Republicans named checked the GOP nominees referred to by Graham, Miguel Estrada – a George W. Bush nominee whose nomination to the DC Circuit was filibustered by Democrats– and Janice Rogers Brown, a George W. Bush-appointee to the DC Circuit whose confirmation faced hostility and delay from Democrats.

“If you are Hispanic or African American and you dare depart from their political orthodoxy, they will crush you, they will attack you, they will slander you, they will filibuster you. So this is not about race,” Cruz said.