Welcome to our 21st #womanoftheweek! Today, we will be discussing Jane Bolin, a black Judge! Enjoy!
Though the name Jane Bolin may not ring any bells for the common American citizen, her legacy is felt even now in justice systems all around the United States. Born in New York in 1908 to an interracial couple, she was an unassuming African-American student through the years. It wasn’t until she graduated from high school with stellar grades in her mid-teens that her potential was seen by others. She struggled through racism and social isolation inflicted by peers and teachers alike at Wellesley College, braving it all to graduate at the top of her class with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1928. Bolin’s ambition didn’t stop there, though - she then enrolled in Yale Law School, three years later becoming the first African-American woman to earn a law degree at the prestigious university.
She went on to practice at her family’s law firm for a while before marrying and moving to New York City. After unsuccessfully running for a Republican state assembly seat, she moved to work as an assistant corporate counsel, again being the first of her kind to do so. Having broken two records and being so successful, one would think that her story would stop there. However, she still had a ways to go in her career. In 1939, Bolin was sworn in as the first African American female judge in the US, to her surprise! Mayor Fiorello La Guardia, the official presiding over the ceremony, made a great choice by assigning her to family court. This prominent position combined her affinity for social justice and her thoughtful side to make her a wonderful judge, ruling on many domestic cases and doing her best to care for the children in the system. Not only was she a saving grace to many a family in need, she also changed long-standing segregationist policies in the justice department and worked with first lady Eleanor Roosevelt to provide support for boys at risk of juvenile crime.
Not only will Jane Bolin be remembered for her direct impact on the families surrounding her, she will be honored for the path she paved for minorities in the American justice system. Not many people have been so successful on so many fronts, but she was for sure one of a kind. Women and people of color have her to thank for her accomplishments and all of the effects she had in the judicial order. We as a nation could not be where we are today without the work of this legendary woman.
Works cited:
https://www.biography.com/political-figure/jane-bolin
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