USC Bass Lab visits the Ebell Theatre — Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson discusses “Lovely One” with Angela Bassett

By Anna Mueller

On September 17, Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson landed in Los Angeles alongside Academy Award-winning actress Angela Bassett for a celebration of her intimate memoir, “Lovely One.”

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson poses with Angela Bassett for a packed auditorium.

Justice Jackson’s stop in Los Angeles is one of just 15 she’ll make this fall to promote her memoir which chronicles her family’s journey from segregation to a seat on America’s highest court. She began writing the near-400-page memoir in 2021 amid her confirmation to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, just shy of one year from her official nomination to the Supreme Court from President Joe Biden. The preface, which she read aloud to a captive audience of 1,270, details the exact moment of her final confirmation in June 2022. 

Throughout her candid conversation with Bassett, Justice Jackson somehow made clerking for three different federal judges, graduating magna cum laude from Harvard University, and the monumental achievement of becoming the first Black woman appointed to the Supreme Court the least interesting things about her. Justice Jackson’s conversation was heartwarmingly personal, laden with anecdotes about first dates with now-husband Dr. Patrick Jackson, her appreciation for musical theater, and parties thrown by fellow Justices. 

"Lovely One" charts Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson's journey to the US Supreme Court from her youth to the present.

Wearing a butter-colored jacket nearly identical to the one she sports on the cover of “Lovely One,” Justice Jackson’s entrance onto the Ebell stage was met with and closed out by minutes-long standing ovations. The result of her discussion with 16-time NAACP Image Award-winner Bassett was a fruitful dialogue about the highs and lows of balancing marriage and motherhood with robust professional careers, the pressures of holding a lifetime position of power, the importance of remaining “collegial with coworkers,” and what Justice Jackson hopes her appointment means for young people of color in America. 

Staff at the University of Southern California Charlotta Bass Journalism and Justice Lab were invited to attend alongside founding director Allissa Richardson. “This event showed me that anything is possible when you believe,” said booking producer Malcolm Ferrouillet.

The Bass Lab Team poses for a photo at the Ebell Theatre.

“Lovely One” was published in September 2024 by Penguin Random House. The No. 1 New York Times Bestseller can be purchased here.

The Ebell of Los Angeles is a women-led and women-centered nonprofit organization founded in 1894 dedicated to “creating diverse opportunities for lifelong learning, cultural exploration, and the transformative power of arts and culture.” “An Evening with Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson” was hosted in partnership with Writers Bloc L.A.