Ketanji Brown Jackson Wore A Symbol Of Silent Rebellion At Inauguration

Donald Trump’s inauguration was a spectacle that went beyond politics. People across the world scrolled through their feeds to see how Washington’s most elite turned up — and by that, we mean what they wore.

For the most part, people were dressed for a somber affair in a sea of unremarkable navy and dark earth tones. However, one look that drew acknowledgment for its dramatic visual significance is the cowrie shell collar Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson wore around her neck.

“Even without understanding the specific cultural significance of cowrie shells, the visual impact of this piece is undeniable,” fashion and costume historian Shelby Ivey Christie told HuffPost. “The dramatic scale of the necklace against the black robe communicates importance and intentionality.”

Christie explained that even those who don’t dissect “looks” can recognize that the Supreme Court justice dressed with intention. “The white shells arranged in a formal pattern suggest ceremony and significance,” she said. “For the average observer, this likely reads as a powerful statement piece that marks an historic moment.”

After all, Jackson is the first Black female justice to sit on the court. “Even folks unfamiliar with its cultural significance can recognize it as a meaningful choice.”

The Symbolic Significance Of Cowrie Shells

For readers unfamiliar with cowrie shells, Christie explained that they are “small, glossy sea shells that have been integral to African culture and commerce for thousands of years.”

“These shells served as currency across Africa, Asia and the Pacific Islands well into the 20th century,” Christie said, adding that they can be worn as jewelry, “strung into elaborate necklaces, sewn onto garments, woven into hair and attached to masks and ceremonial dress.” She also noted that royal regalia often features cowrie shells. 

“In many African traditions, cowrie shells are believed to carry protective properties and spiritual significance,” she said. “They’re often seen as conduits of ancestral wisdom and protection, used in divination practices and spiritual ceremonies.”

Cowrie Shells In America

The cowrie shell has also found its way into fine jewelry by Black American designers. Fine jewelry designer Catherine Sarr’s Almasika, a luxury line of 18-karat gold and diamonds, debuted in 2014 with a collection Sarr called the diamond cowrie. She described the collection as “an homage to a shell that’s rich in symbolism.”

Her clients include former first lady Michelle Obama, singer Alicia Keys, and actors Issa Rae, Sandra Oh, Tracee Ellis Ross and Reese Witherspoon. Of the cowrie shell, Sarr noted, “It’s always been a talisman associated with good fortune.”

Justice Jackson’s Cowrie Shell Bib

At first glance, Jackson’s necklace resembles a judicial bib. “This design brilliantly reinterprets the traditional judicial jabot through an African-American cultural lens,” explained Christie. “The cascading arrangement of shells mirrors the formal neckpiece typically worn by Supreme Court justices, but reimagines it using elements deeply rooted in African and African American aesthetic traditions.” 

Jackson’s choice to wear cowrie shells to the Capitol Rotunda among billionaires like Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg is also a nod to the thousands of Black women who have to coexist professionally with their own version of the billionaire’s boys club — and the white women who exoticize their hair, jewelry and other sartorial markers of identity.

“It exemplifies how Black women often navigate professional spaces,” Christie told HuffPost, “honoring institutional traditions while asserting cultural identity.”

She called Jackson’s necklace a beacon of hope and assertion of independence, encouraging Black women and others who don’t support the Trump administration to “bring one’s whole identity into spaces of institutional power.” Not only that, Christie explained, but the necklace “carries ancestral strength and draws upon the collective wisdom of generations past.”

CORRECTION: This article has been amended to note that Ketanji Brown Jackson is the first Black woman on the Supreme Court.

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