In 1790, a relatively short time after America’s founding, the United States Supreme Court assembled for the first time. Of course, this initial assembly was a non-diverse one composed exclusively of White men. This assembly of men undertook the most extraordinary task known to humankind. The task at hand of becoming the leading voice for a democratic nation perfectly balanced atop three branches of government — Executive, Legislative, and Judicial — was, in a word, unprecedented. To their credit, America’s Founding Fathers understood the need for elasticity and correction via Constitutional Amendments and decisions handed down from its highest Court.

Moments such as the appointment of Ketanji Onyika Brown Jackson (KBJ) to the U.S. Supreme Court invariably cause me to wonder if this nation’s White Founding Fathers fathomed that a day would arrive where the racial and gender composition of the Court would be so diverse.

Although KBJ’s arrival to the nation’s highest Court marks the first time an African American female occupies a seat, it is not unprecedented terrain for the Race. (Famed Civil Rights Lawyer Thurgood Marshall integrated the Supreme Court on August 30, 1967.) Nor does KBJ’s ascension to the Supreme Court mark the first time a female jurist has reached such heights. Yet, this remains a historical moment all freedom-loving Americans should celebrate. KBJ’s appointment must be viewed through a lens of the historical challenges and obstacles Black women navigate during the long and often lonely walk to success.

Born to Johnny Brown, a lawyer who became the chief attorney for the Miami-Dade County School Board, and Ellery, the principal at New World School of the Arts, KBJ, hails from Miami, Florida. A graduate of Miami Palmetto Senior High School (1988), this impressive young lady earned the ranking of a national orator at the National Catholic Forensic League, an accomplishment foreshadowing her future. KBJ’s laser-like focus on her professional destination is reflected in a Miami Palmetto Senior High School yearbook quote that she “wanted to go into law and eventually have a judicial appointment.”

This ambitious young lady would graduate from Harvard University with magna cum laude distinction after completing a senior thesis titled “The Hand of Oppression: Plea Bargaining Processes and the Coercion of Criminal Defendants.” KBJ would complete her formal education at Harvard Law School, where she not only served as a supervising editor of the Harvard Law Review but also earned a J.D. with distinction.

At the present moment, Black America, particularly Black women, are attempting to comprehend what Ketanji Brown Jackson’s appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court means. If provided the opportunity, I would caution Black women not to view KBJ as a Messianic figure sent to save them from the world’s evils. As a singular voice on a Conservative-leaning court, there is only so much that she can do. When KBJ takes her place among fellow Supreme Court jurists, she will be joining a decidedly Conservative Court. Six of the current jurists are Conservatives; three of those are Trump appointees. Ketanji Brown Jackson joins Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan as left-leaning jurists. KBJ begins her appointment amongst raging politico-economic battles over accessing the vote and the rights of workers to unionize against powerful companies.

Despite the lifetime appointments that should free Supreme Court Jurists to shed any allegiance to a political party or ideology, deep political divisions are discernible far too frequently. The alluded to party loyalty reminds one of Cold War Era politics that will not dissipate among Supreme Court jurists as divisive issues like Roe v Wade will soon appear in front of them. It is hard to imagine KBJ, Sotomayor, and Kagan mounting an effective attack while being outnumbered 2 to 1 by fellow jurists for the foreseeable future.

This larger context reverts me to the earlier point of Black America tempering their expectations regarding KBJ having an immediate impact on the U.S. Supreme Court. Although the appointment of the first African-American female to the U.S. Supreme Court is a momentous occasion, it may not move the needle regarding protecting African American women due to the factors discussed above.

Ketanji Brown Jackson’s joining an ideologically divided Supreme Court at the young age of 51 promises at least a three-decade term on the Court. As you well know, much will change over the next few decades within a diversifying nation as older Whites and their antiquated racial views and bias begin to fade to Black.

In the immortal words of Adam Clayton Powell Jr., “Keep the faith, baby.”

James Thomas Jones III, Ph.D., M.A., M.A., M.A., is an associate professor of African American Studies at Prairie View A&M University and the creator of Manhood, Race, and Culture.