Black women bond over Ketanji Brown Jackson's 'look.' Here's what it means.

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson's confirmation hearing was a historic moment in American history, illustrating the story of Black success in the United States while juxtaposed against a stage of microaggressions.

Jackson is the first Black woman to be nominated to the high court in its 232-year history. While she stands alone in this victory, she is joined by countless other Black women who have had to smile and bear the double standards presented in white spaces while offering no outward signs of upset besides a simple "look." This multi-generational "look" has been used by Black women to communicate silent indignation for years.

"It's a look that bespeaks our ancestral pain," Imani Gandy, senior editor of law and policy at Rewire News Group, tells Yahoo Life.

Video: Biden calls Jackson ‘one of the most qualified nominees ever’

"??In order to push back on those stereotypes we have to behave in a certain way," Gandy says. "We are not allowed to behave in the way that white women are allowed to: We have to be more poised, we have to be more dignified. In the face of relentless microaggressions, we have to be able to decide which ones we're going to let slide and which ones are a bridge too far."

During the hearings, many onlookers took to Twitter to share their analysis of Jackson's body language and all it represents.

"This is the 'look' Black women give you 5 seconds before they cuss you out," read one tweet in reference to the 'look.'

"The look on Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson's face is the look so many of us know, especially Black Women. The judge knows more about the law than all these senators combined — she's had to — yet, must submit herself to this racist scrutinization and questioning of her legal prowess," read another.

The jumping through proverbial hoops during her hearing with the accompanying glances is a practice Black women in America are all too familiar with, commenters noted.

"It was maddening to watch, and yet I know that Jackson cannot express her frustrations outwardly. She's going to be expected to eat this indignity with a smile and never speak of it publicly after her confirmation. She knows, as does any Black woman in America, that if she gets upset, displays anger or reacts with outrage, she will be immediately labeled an Angry Black Woman and all her credentials and hard work will not matter," wrote activist and author Mikki Kendall for Time magazine.

Despite a legal resume that matches or surpasses many of the current sitting judges, Jackson's hearing was filled with questions and comments that many deemed patronizing non-sequiturs. Portions of the questioning included inquiries about Justice Brett Kavanaugh's own judicial hearing and critical race theory as well as repeated interruptions as she tried to respond.

When Sen. Lindsey Graham insistently questioned her, past the allotted time, about the handling of Brett Kavanaugh's Senate hearing, Jackson looked visibly confused as the matter had nothing to do with her history as a judge.

Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn, meanwhile, suggested that Jackson would let critical race theory affect her decision-making and asked if it was her "personal agenda to incorporate critical race areas into our legal systems." Republican Sen. Ted Cruz asked the nominee her thoughts on a stack of books, including, How to Be an Antiracist and Antiracist Baby, which are a part of the curriculum at Georgetown Day School. Though Jackson sits on the school's board of trustees, she has no input in the school's curriculum.

"It is filled and overflowing with critical race theory," Cruz said of the school's curriculum. "Do you agree with this book that is being taught with kids that babies are racist?"

Despite some framings of the interactions as "heated," Jackson was poised in all of her responses, offering only the well-understood "look."

Black women are not a monolith, so while "the look" varies for each woman, its layered significance universally stems from the pressures placed on Black women to not appear "angry," "hostile" or "emotional" in the face of disrespect, say observers

"It's a way that we are able to sort of get through the indignities of just daily life, but I mean, those looks are universal among Black women. And so it's almost like, you feel a little bit of kinship to [Kamala] Harris or to Jackson or to whomever, whenever a Black woman is under the gun and being interrogated by white folks," says Gandy.

Venus Williams's version of "the look" was on display at the 2022 Critics' Choice Awards on March 13. During her acceptance speech for Best Director, Jane Campion offered Venus Williams and sister Serena a backhanded compliment, suggesting that her victory stood apart from their odds-defying journeys because she was in competition with men.

"Serena and Venus, you are such marvels. However, you do not play against the guys like I have to," said the Power of the Dog director, who has since apologized for her comments. Both Williams sisters have played mixed doubles against men, but the statement represents a bigger flaw in how the world perceives and interacts with Black women.

"They try to analogize it to something that they understand, which is oppression from white men," Gandy points out.

Venus's "look" came with an uncomfortable smile that has been seen on the faces of other Black women navigating humiliating devaluations of their lived experiences at the hands of their white counterparts. The need to single out the plight of Black women and repackage it to fit certain narratives is commonplace in professional industries, no matter how over-qualified these women may be.

This look embodies the harsh realities that come with thriving in traditionally white spaces while existing at the intersection of racism and misogyny, regardless of education, income or status. Says Gandy, "I think being a Black woman in this country, and trying to thrive and certainly trying to be successful, is about just persevering."

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