HERstory: the honorable jane bolin

meet the honorable jane bolin, the first black woman to become a judge in the United States. her honor was born april 11, 1908 in new york.  judge bolin came from a comfortable family-- her father was also a lawyer-- but she could not ignore

the cruelty and injustice happening in her country as she grew up. so she decided to do something about it.

judge bolin went to yale law school, where her white classmates would swing classroom doors to hit her in the face, call her out of her name, and try to run her off campus. but that didn't stop her (stick and stones...) in 1931, jane bolin became the first black woman to graduate from yale law school.

8 years later, the mayor of new york called judge bolin for a meeting, and she just knew that she was going to be fired -- even though she had not done anything wrong.  instead, the mayor appointed her to be the first black female judge in new york -- and in the country -- on july 22, 1939.

during her time as a judge, people admired her honor's beautiful hats and pearls, but she was far more than a pretty in black fashionista.  judge bolin made it illegal to deny children access to foster care services just because they were black.  she also made it illegal to assign probation officers based on their race.  judge bolin made a difference.

after her time as a judge, her honor continued to fight for equality for black americans, working with the NAACP.

judge bolin passed away on january 8, 2007-- she lived to be 98 years old! what a long, heroic life!

as a black girl in law school, i would like to say : [thank you, your honor, for paving the way .]


if you want to know more about judge bolin, check out her biography.