Most people only recognise the “popular” black leaders like Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. However, many other black leaders impacted society as well. The first-ever female African American judge, Jane Matilda Bolin, defended justice and equality during the Civil Rights Movement. She served New York’s Family Court for about 4 decades, helping children and women of color to gain their “necessary public funds.” Bolin was the first black woman to graduate from Yale University. After being a judge, she went on to become a teacher, lawyer, advisor, and much more. Jane Bolin was born in Poughkeepsie, New York, on April 11, 1908. Her parents were Gaius C. Bolin, a lawyer, and Matilda Ingram Emery, an immigrant. Her family consisted of four …show more content…
Bolin. He was a lawyer and pioneer, and the first Black Graduate of Williams College. Gaius Bolin went on to open up his own business in law practice. Jane Bolin, as a kid, spent time in her father’s office, which inspired her to start law practice. Bolin’s father knew that a black woman in the law industry would have slim to none chances of succeeding, but “Judge Bolin” knew that this was her destiny. During her time at Wellesley College, she experienced prejudice. Even her own teachers advised her not to go for law, but she didn’t listen. At Yale, Bolin experienced more racism than in her childhood community. She said that “I certainly had a taste of what Judge Bolin must have experienced every day.” Bolin eventually got into Law by passing the New York Bar …show more content…
When Bolin got admitted to New York City Domestic Relations Court, known as Family Court, she devoted herself to fighting for children’s rights, taking cases related to juvenile courts, child abuse, segregation of wives and children, adoptions, and child welfare. Jane Bolin fought very hard every day to get rights for people because she had to make sure that children and women received their rights, just like she said, “There was little opportunity for women in law, and absolutely none for a colored one.” Other than females, she also defended young boys with her partner, Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, a civil rights supporter. Other than the honorary degree earned from Yale, Bolin did not earn any