Local History

Above photo from Ignite National

In honor of March being Women’s History Month, we are highlighting a handful of important women who made strides in the social, political, and economic climates of our region. 

Jane Bolin was born on April 11, 1908 in Poughkeepsie, NY, to Gaius Bolin and Matilda Emery. Gaius was a lawyer and the first Black person to graduate from Williams College in Williamstown, MA. He practiced law in Dutchess County for 50 years, during which he was the first Black president of the Dutchess County Bar Association. Bolin’s mother, Matilda, hailed from the British Isles. While interracial marriage was not unusual in Poughkeepsie, Bolin quickly became aware that she was “different” and was occasionally refused services at local businesses due to the color of her skin.  

Judge Bolin attended Poughkeepsie High School, and while Vassar College may have been the obvious choice for college, she was prevented from enrolling since the school did not accept African American students at the time. Instead, at 16 years old, Bolin became one of two African Americans in the freshmen class at Wellesley College in Massachusetts. In 1928, she graduated in the top 20 of her class, and though her career advisor at Wellesley tried to discourage her from applying to Yale Law School, Bolin did it anyway. In 1931, she became the first Black woman to graduate from the prestigious law school, and she passed the New York State bar exam in 1932.  

From Poughkeepsie to the five boroughs

Bolin practiced law with her father in Poughkeepsie for a short period of time before heading south to carve her career in New York City. In 1939, Bolin was appointed to the bench of New York City’s Domestic Relations Court (later renamed Family Court) by Mayor Fiorello La Guardia, making her the nation’s first African American female judge. She would later be reappointed to the same position by three different mayors, serving four 10-year terms. Bolin was the only African-American female judge in the United States for 20 years. 

An article from The Root states, “Family courts and juvenile courts at the time ‘represented the lowest rung of the judicial hierarchy,’ relying as they did on what was considered to be female expertise surrounding children’s rights. Bolin subscribed to no such notions. During her four decades on the bench, she consistently chipped away at the institutional racism that plagued New York City. Discrimination was rampant in the court system, with white children in Domestic Relations Court assigned exclusively to white probation officers, and Black children to Black probation officers.” 

Bolin worked to integrate child services through ensuring that probation officers were assigned without regard to race or religion and that publicly-funded childcare agencies accepted children regardless of ethnic or racial background.

According to Bolin’s official Biography page, regarding her work she stated, “I don’t want to sound trite, but families and children are so important to our society, and to dedicate your life to trying to improve their lives is completely satisfying.”

A life of service

Bolin was an activist for children’s rights and education throughout her entire life both in her work as a judge and lawyer and also in her personal life. She served as a legal advisor to the National Council of Negro Women, and served on the boards of the NAACP, the National Urban League, the City-Wide Citizens’ Committee on Harlem, and the Child Welfare League. 

Bolin’s involvement with the NAACP was ongoing throughout her life, and she and her siblings co-founded the organization’s Dutchess County branch in 1931. Though she resigned from the organization due to McCarthyism and a struggle with the national leadership, she continued to be active in the Civil Rights Movement. 

Nationally recognized for her incredible, groundbreaking achievements, Judge Bolin received honorary degrees from the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, Williams College in Massachusetts, Hampton University in Virginia, Western College for Women in Ohio, and Morgan State University in Maryland. 

After her retirement in 1979, Judge Bolin served on the New York State Board of Regents and volunteered as a reading instructor in New York City public schools for two years. 

Commemorating their vital contributions to Poughkeepsie and Dutchess County as a whole, Judge Bolin and her father, Gaius, are featured in a mural at the Dutchess County Courthouse in Poughkeepsie. Additionally, the Poughkeepsie City School District’s administration building is named for Judge Bolin.

To learn more about Judge Jane Bolin, visit this link.