February marks Black History Month. So, I was curious who was the ‘first’ when it came to black women in U.S. law and found out these interesting numbers…
The first ‘first’ was one hundred years ago as of 2021.
And, across those 100 years to 2021, there are twenty-one ‘first’ sheroes.
The list is below to honor them. And, here's to many more to come!
#womenofcolorinlaw
1921 -
Gertrude Rush, first female (and African American female) to co-found and lead a coed state bar association
1937 -
Helen Elsie Austin, first African American female to serve as an Assistant Attorney General in the U.S. and Ohio
1939 -
Jane Bolin, the first African American female judge in the U.S. and the first black woman to graduate from Yale Law School, the first to join the New York City Bar Association, and the first to join the New York City Law Department.
1968 -
Barbara M. Watson, first African American, and first female to serve as the Assistant Secretary of State
1973 -
Jewel Lafontant, first female (and African American female) to become the Deputy Solicitor General of the United States
1975 -
Julia Cooper Mack, the first African American female appointed to a court of last resort in the U.S.
1979 -
Joyce London Alexander, the first African American female to be appointed a Chief Magistrate judge in the U.S.
1979 -
Amalya Lyle Kearse, first African American female appointed as a U.S. circuit court judge/federal appeals judge in the U.S.
1980 -
Arleigh M. Woods, first African American female appointed as a state appellate court judge
1988 -
Bernice B. Donald, first African American female to serve as a bankruptcy judge
1993 -
Pamela Carter, first African American female to serve as an Attorney General in the U.S. and Indiana
1993 -
Hazel R. O'Leary, first African American female (lawyer) to serve as the U.S. Secretary of Energy (1993-1997)
1994 -
Deborah Batts, first openly gay African American female federal judge
2005 -
Leah Ward Sears, first African American female to serve as a Chief Justice in the U.S.
2009 -
Michelle Obama, first African American female (lawyer) to become the First Lady of the United States (2009-2017)
2014 -
Paulette Brown, first African American female to serve as the President of the American Bar Association
2015 -
Loretta Lynch, first African American female appointed as the United States Attorney General
2014 -
Staci Michelle Yandle, first openly LGBT African American female Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
2021 -
Deborah N. Archer, first African American, and first female to serve as the President of the American Civil Liberties Union
2021 -
Kamala Harris, first African American, and Asian American, and first female elected to be Vice President of the United States.
