Jane Matilda Bolin, LL.B. (April 11, 1908 – January 8, 2007) was 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. She became the first black woman to serve as a judge in the United States when she was sworn into the bench of the New York City Domestic Relations Court in 1939.

When she was 31 years old, Bolin became a judge at New York City’s Domestic Relations Court (renamed Family Court in 1962).  Her achievement was another first–Judge Bolin was  the only Black female judge in the United States for 20 years.

Bolin was an activist for children’s rights and education. She was a legal advisor to the National Council of Negro Women. She served on the boards of the NAACP, the National Urban League and the Child Welfare League. She received honorary degrees from Tuskeegee Institute, Williams College, Hampton University, Western College for Women and Morgan State University.

Get Involved:  Children’s Rights

Judge Bolin worked in the very same building that now houses Baruch’s President Wu’s Office and the Mishkin Gallery.  Her biography, Daughter of the Empire State: The Life of Judge Jane Bolin,  is available online at Baruch’s Newman Library.