Meet Kendall Jackson, One of the First Black Female Eagle Scouts

Kendall Jackson is what representation looks like.

Meet Kendall Jackson, a member of Gary, Indiana’s Scout Troop 53, and one of the first Black female Eagle Scouts.

CNN reporting says Jackson was 15-years-old when the Scouts started admitting girls in 2019. If she was to reach her goal of earning the highest rank before her 18th birthday, Jackson knew she had to put in some work.

“I was just ready to go. I was eager to get started and be able to have this opportunity,” she said. “I was overwhelmed with joy and I was ecstatic to be able to join,” Jackson tells CNN.

Now at 17, Jackson is part of the “inaugural class of female Eagle Scouts,” a class which includes young women who earned the rank between Oct. 1, 2020, and Feb. 8, 2021.

The Boy Scouts of America said in a statement, “We are thrilled that hundreds of diverse young women have attained the prestigious rank of Eagle Scout, which is widely valued by universities, employers, and other respected institutions around the world.”

Only about 6% of all Scouts ever earn the rank of Eagle Scout. Officials are trying to finalize the numbers now, but it is believed that Jackson is only one of 21 Black women to have achieved that goal.