By Amellia Fowler

UW–Madison’s Jerry Jordan, an academic and multicultural advisor in the School of Education, recently completed a portrait of Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson for Dane County Circuit Court Judge Everett Mitchell.

A recent Capital Times article, “Why a Dane County judge displays a Supreme Court justice portrait,” explores the story behind the portrait and why Mitchell decided to commission it.

In addition to his work with the School of Education, Jordan is an artist and illustrator. According to the article, his contemporary realist style is inspired by the “unsung artists of the Harlem Renaissance.”

“It wasn’t until I got to college where I discovered the artists of the Harlem Renaissance,” Jordan told the Cap Times. “That was huge because it told me that I could do this as well.”

Jordan said his goal with the portrait was to present Jackson, the first Black woman to serve on the nation’s highest court, as “fully there, fully present, and somebody that kids, young kids, African American girls and boys — especially girls — will see and envision themselves wearing those robes someday.” 

This is the second portrait Jordan has completed for Mitchell. He first depicted Justice Everett Marshall, the first Black justice on the nation’s highest court. 

Read the full Cap Times article to learn more.