i didn't either. she was a pioneer and she made it easier for those who came AFTER her. thank you ms bolin. i am guessing it must not have been easy for you
1st black female U.S. judge dies at 98; served in New York
By Samantha Gross, Associated Press Writer January 11, 2007
NEW YORK --Jane Bolin, who was the first black woman to graduate from Yale Law School and became the nation's first black female judge, has died at age 98.
Bolin's death was confirmed by Matthew Kovary, the press coordinator for the New York City Bar Association. Bolin's family contacted the association on Thursday for help arranging a memorial, the details of which were pending, Kovary said. He did not disclose further details of the death.
Bolin was sworn in by Mayor Fiorello H. LaGuardia in a surprise ceremony in 1939, becoming the first black female judge in the United States, according to the city's law department.
Assigned to the Domestic Relations Court, later renamed Family Court, Bolin fought racial discrimination from the bench. She worked to end segregation in child placement facilities and the assignment of probation officers based on race. She also helped to create a racially integrated treatment center for delinquent boys.
Bolin reflected on her status as a barrier-breaker in a 1993 interview with The New York Times.
"Everyone else makes a fuss about it, but I didn't think about it, and I still don't," she said. "I wasn't concerned about first, second or last. My work was my primary concern."
Her 10-year appointment was renewed by the city's mayors three times until she reached the mandatory retirement age of 70.
In a speech in 1958, Bolin discussed women's struggle for equal rights..........
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