By: Natalie Osorio
Happy Black History Month!!! The Clipper is incredibly excited to be publishing articles about impactful African American individuals! For the first week, we will be highlighting Jane Matilda Bolin.
Jane Matilda Bolin was an American attorney and judge. Although this may not sound surprising, she is important because she was the first black woman to graduate from Yale Law School, and the first to join the New York City Law Department. Additionally, Bolin was the first black woman to serve as a judge in the United States.
Early Life:
Jane Matilda Bolin was born on April 11, 1908 in Poughkeepsie, New York. Her father was the first black person to graduate from Williams College with a law degree, and her mother was from the British Isles. As the child of an interracial couple, Bolin was discriminated against in Poughkeepsie. After attending high school there, she was sadly denied enrollment at Vassar College. As a result, she enrolled at Wellesley College in Massachusetts and was one of the two black freshmen there. Although she faced significant discrimination in college, she was able to graduate from Wellesley at the top 20 of her class!! An advisor at the college suggested against applying to Yale (due to her race & gender), however to their surprise, she was accepted!!
The First African American Female Judge:
On July 22, 1939, Bolin was called to appear at the World’s Fair in front of Mayor Fiorello La Guardia, who had plans to swear her in as a judge. That was the day she made American History!! After having been assigned to what was known as the “Family Court”, Bolin was a conscientious force, tackling issues such as the domestic front, and taking care when it came to children. She also decreased segregationist policies, such as skin-color based assignments for probation officers. Bolin worked with first lady, Eleanor Roosevelt, in supporting the Wiltwyck School, which was a program to eliminate juvenile crime among boys.
Later Career:
Bolin was reinstated as a judge for three more terms, 10 years each, after her first, and also served on the boards of many organizations. These included the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People & the New York Urban League. At the age of 70, Bolin was forced to retire from the bench, and subsequently worked as a consultant and school-based volunteer. She died in Long Island City, Queens, on January 8, 2007, at the age of 98.
Biography:
In 2011, a biography was published on Bolin’s career, titled, Daughter of the Empire State: The Life of Judge Jane Bolin by Jacqueline A. McLeod for the University of Illinois Press.
Thank you so much for reading about Jane Bolin's impactful life! Be sure to stay tuned for more posts about prominent Black figures in American history.
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