barrett. here s what senator whitaker said to barrett at the time. i have five granddaughters, and i think you re going to be an inspiration to those five granddaughters. so, clearly the senator understands the power of representation and what it means. so, don t young black girls in this country also deserve to have that kind of inspiration? shouldn t they be able to see themselves reflected on the nation s highest court? but let s be honest here for a moment. let s be clear. the issue here isn t identity politics. the court has always been intertwined with identity from its inception in 1789 until 1967 when thurgood marshal joined the bench, the entirety of the court was made up of white men. it s not really the idea of taking identity into account