This woman’s Wellesley career advisor told her not to apply to Yale Law School

Added: 2026-05-28

[00:00:00]This woman's Wesleyan career advisor told her not to apply to Yale Law School. Her father agreed. Jane Bolin went on to become the first black woman to graduate from Yale Law School. In 1939, Mayor LaGuardia called her to the World's Fair. LaGuardia simply said, "I'm going to make you a judge. Raise your right hand." "I was in a state of shock," Jane recalled. "I raised my right hand." She spent 40 years on that bench. Stopped child welfare agencies remarking petitions to sort black and Puerto Rican kids into segregated facilities. Started taking off her judicial robes so that the kids in her courtroom would feel more comfortable.

[00:00:31]For 20 years, she served as the only black female judge in the country. Three mayors reappointed her. Her colleagues said she was a militant and a fighter in a very quiet way. She didn't campaign for recognition. She just changed the rules from inside the room she'd fought to get into.