-My name is Leonard Garfield.
I'm the director of MOHAI.
And this is one of my favorite programs of the year.
It's our annual partnership
with the Black Heritage Society of Washington State
to honor Black History Month.
I have to go off-script right from the very beginning
to say that there is no other heritage organization
in our community
that does such great work with so few resources
except their own strength, their own enthusiasm,
their own commitment to history.
And they are saving and preserving
and sharing the history of our community --
our Black community here in Seattle and across the state.
And let's just give it up for the BHS,
because they are absolutely amazing.
[ Cheers and applause ]
This is also the first program at MOHAI
that we will be celebrating,
commemorating, and reflecting this year
on 250 years of American History --
1776, the signing of the Declaration of Independence,
And what a great way to start "The Verdict Is?"
The questions, the challenges,
the aspirations, and the opportunities.
We're gonna hear so much about how that history played out
on the ground here in Seattle from a very distinguished panel.
Before we do that, I do want to start,
as we do every program at MOHAI,
to remind us that we are here
on the lands and home of the Coast Salish people.
We honor their endurance, we honor their presence,
and we share their history with them here at the museum.
And I also want to give a few details about the facility.
We've got restrooms down the hall that way.
We've got lots of food --
and we're very casual about food,
so you can take it right into your seat --
and things to drink.
And feel free to get around if you need to,
because we have a great conversation,
but you don't have to feel like you're locked into your seat.
Well, I am very, very honored
to introduce the President of the BHS,
Stephanie Johnson-Toliver,
who is an incredible individual.
If you've ever had a chance to work with Stephanie,
listen to Stephanie follow Stephanie,
you absolutely have to do it.
Because I was saying to Ellen just moments ago we're part of
the Stephanie Johnson-Toliver fan club,
and you will be, too, before the evening's out.
So with that, Stephanie, come on up onstage.
[ Applause ]
-Great.
This looks dangerous.
Yeah, everybody watch that.
Hello, hello.
Welcome.
Gosh, what a privilege it always is to be at MOHAI
and the space with our 40-plus-year partner,
the Museum of History and Industry,
welcoming BHS and embracing us for more than 40 years
where we share the repository in Georgetown.
We'll tell you a little bit more about that
as we get through the program.
So, on behalf of the board of the Black Heritage Society,
I welcome you here tonight.
And before we really get into
the real meat of this program --
Well, I shouldn't put it that way,
because what Jaye Ware is gonna share with you tonight
is something that's always significant.
We're gonna start off the program
with the poetics, the poetry of Jaye Ware,
who is a member
of the African-American Writers' Alliance.
And when Jaye approached me and said, "You know what?
I have something special to say --"
She retired, too.
Maybe she'll share that,
as she retired from the courts last year.
So all of the synchronicity
coming together for this evening.
And so with all that said, Jaye, please welcome.
[ Applause ]
-I can tell you right now that I am super honored to be here.
[ Laughs ] She's right.
I retired from King County Superior Court
November of 2025.
And it was a scary thing. [ Applause ]
You know, when you work for the court system
for such a very, very, very, very, very long time.
it was a scary thing.
But before I get into my poem,
she told me, "You have three minutes."
So I wrote it three minutes.
And, then, I get this text, like, yesterday,
"Well, actually, you have a little extra time."
I'm like, "What?"
So with that little extra time,
I want to tell you a couple of things.
I'm gonna start with when I started with the court,
Judge Charles V. Johnson was the presiding judge!
Yes, he was! [ Applause ]
It was so wonderful. I kid you not.
It was wonderful.
He has such an air of dignity about him.
Many of you met Judge Charles V. Johnson,
and you know that to be true.
And he was in an incredible, down-to-earth human being,
and, then, a brilliant judge who collected turtles.
So he had hundreds of turtles in his chambers
from around the world.
I mean, it would be turtles in shoes, turtles in hats,
turtles that were emerging out of eggshells.
I mean, it was the most incredible
collection of turtles.
Do you did you still keep those turtles?
Okay. [ Laughs ]
Also, it was back
when you had to drive for mental-health court.
You had to drive to Overlake Hospital.
So, in the car was Judge Charles V. Johnson,
myself, the clerk, and the court reporter.
We're driving across the bridge.
The windows are down -- Well, partially,
but down enough where a bee could get in.
And it got in.
Now, you're sitting with a judge,
and you're trying to be a little bit dignified yourself.
Not when there's a bee in the car I'm not dignified.
We got to pull over.
We're on the bridge. Oh, no. I'm freaking out.
I do not want to get stung.
I'm terrified. I do not like insects.
I really don't, for whatever reason.
I don't know where it came from. I don't like insects.
I really don't like insects that could sting me or bite me.
So I am freaking out.
"Pull over, pull over, pull over!
Oh, my God, oh, my God, there's a bee in the car!"
As soon as -- Of course Judge Johnson is driving.
Judge Johnson is driving!
As soon as we get across that bridge, he pulls over.
He pulls over. Okay, so we get to be out.
Here's the last thing I'm gonna say,
and then I'm gonna get into my poem.
This is the first time I saw him on the bench.
I was not his judicial officer.
I was not his bailiff. Judicial assistant.
I was not his bailiff, but we covered for one another.
So, I'm in his courtroom,
and there is an African-American defendant
who was involved as the driver
of the getaway car of a bank robbery.
Now, he was the driver. He didn't do much.
[ Laughing ] He was just driving.
So, he sees Judge Johnson.
And when Black person
sees another Black person in position of authority
and you've got a problem on your hands,
you think, "Oh, they're gonna get it.
They're gonna understand.
They're gonna give me a break.
They realize my history.
They've had history.
We see each other. We see each other."
Now, I'm feeling sorry for the defendant myself.
Okay, so this is what Judge Johnson says.
And I have never --
I mean, this was a long time ago.
I've never forgotten what he said
after he talked to this defendant for a second.
He said, "If you are guilty of a dime,
you're guilty of a dollar."
I'll never forget that. And I was feeling sorry for him.
I'm like, "Man, he was just driving the getaway car.
He was only like 10% responsible."
But Judge Johnson said you are just as responsible.
So there. There's your justice.
This piece is called "A Sight for Sore Eyes."
And it really was, and it really is
to see Black, African-American judges on the bench
after you have gone through so much history.
Still, today, it's a sight for sore eyes.
Rising from the ashes
of good, old, down-home hospitality,
seasoned to mouthwatering perfection
in South Carolina, Arkansas, Florida's Bible belt
of racism, bigotry,
feasting on lovingly cooked, lip-smacking meats and meals
of faith and families,
sucking the juice out of the systems brick by brick
to deny basic human rights,
resolute, staring discrimination squarely in the face,
keenly aware of prejudices based on face.
A sight for sore eyes, a sight for sore eyes,
to see Black judges knowing this very real reality,
challenging unjust laws and cultural norms
of Black lawyers becoming judges,
weathering the torrential storms,
doors slammed shut
now slightly ajar,
open a crack.
The judiciary seemingly unreachable,
impossible odds stacked,
smelling the sweet aroma of success
for future legal minds to follow,
Black judges taking lawyers under their wings,
sweetening bitter pills
that they were once forced to swallow.
A sight for sore eyes to see.
Where do I begin?
Where do I start?
Brown defendants looking shocked, relieved.
A Black judge in a black robe,
determined to give voices on the margins their day to be heard,
Justice no longer blurred, sitting high,
understanding institutions
fortified to deny adequate defense,
vowing to administer rules fairly.
Justice, justice, justice beginning to make sense.
A sight for sore eyes to see in the classroom.
Little, brown eyes open wide, smiling with happiness, joy,
pride sticking out their little chest.
If they can do it, so can I.
Little, brown eyes.
Little, brown eyes open wide,
smelling what happiness, joy, pride
sticking out their little chests.
If they can do it, so can I.
Innocent until proven guilty more than just mere words,
a Black judge robed in courage, dignity, properly girded.
Charles Z. Smith opening the door
for Charles V. Johnson to bring in more.
Leroy McCullough jumping on board.
Judges Haley, Smith, Huggins,
the blood of judicial service flowing through their veins.
Seize the opportunity to encourage others
to break every chain.
Monica Benton did not sit idly on the fence.
Richard Jones understood the assignment.
Spearman, Clark, Lori K. Smith. Wigs, Phillips, Dickson
not to be left behind,
knowing justice must be fair, color-blind.
Now open wide, now open wide, now open wide.
Many marched through the door,
honoring what ancestors fought for.
A sight, a sight for sore eyes to see.
Leadership in the community overcoming a history
of spirit-breaking inequities,
honoring those who bore the worst brutalities,
dreams deferred, sold.
Black jurists -- Black jurists striving for excellence,
unapologetically brilliant,
oh, so very visible.
If truth be told, an incredible and amazing beauty to behold.
Thank you.
[ Applause ]
-Yeah. You see how we help one another?
[ Laughs ]
Jaye, thank you so much.
That was really beautiful, and hearing those names.
And tonight, we're gonna say some of those names.
I, again, am very proud to be here
on behalf of the Black Heritage Society board.
And some of our board members are here tonight.
Raise your hands there. I see you two.
Right. Yeah. [ Applause ]
Carol Peoples-Procter and Stephanie Spearman.
I told myself, too,
that I wasn't going to veer from my script.
I was just about to do that.
And, then, I'm like, "Okay, Steph.
Look at your notes. Stay on topic."
It's gonna be a little hard for me tonight, too,
because I'm feeling like I'm in this room
that's full of this really beautiful energy.
I've had the opportunity to reach out
with a few e-mails and a few phone calls.
But maybe a number of phone calls to Judge McCullough.
[ Chuckles ] Judge McCullough, you are my hero, okay?
Carol and I worked early in the planning
of this event this evening.
And when we finally approached you
and had the opportunity to talk with you,
you were that fuel.
You lit our fire.
We then were able to reach out
and talk to a number of the jurists and family members
to be able to bring this program together here tonight.
So thank you. Thank you, Judge McCullough.
[ Applause ]
Alright. So, here we go.
And I'm in charge of the clicker, too, so...
I absolutely love this.
I want to tell you a little about the Charles --
we have a lot of Charles here tonight --
the Charles Z. Smith Legacy Collection.
But when I look at this photo,
I see so much here, right, in this photo.
So, not only is this the judge --
And when you look really deeply into the photos,
you'll see him receiving his robe, right,
as a new Superior Court judge.
There's everything else in this photo, though,
that tells me, one,
the pride and the joy of his wife, Eleanor.
You can see her sitting there in that first row.
And, then, next to her is Carlos.
And, Carlos, you're here. I met you tonight.
Yes.
I know. Looking like your dad.
And, so, Carlos is there and Felicia, who --
Carlos was 10 and Felicia's 3 in this photograph.
And this is a photo that was taken
by a Seattle Times reporter
who happened to be there that day in 1966.
And, then, when you look over Ellie's shoulder,
you know, and I zoom in just a little bit closer,
I'm like, "That's the bishop.
That is Pastor John Adams, right?"
I don't know if you can see that from where you are,
but there he is in the room.
And that says to me, too, that he was there in support,
as he always worked in community
alongside and together with Justice Smith.
They were two humanitarians.
They were people
who went outside and beyond the bench in community,
as all of our judges --
You'll hear from some of them tonight,
and the same with them, as well.
So, they were there, working together.
And so I want to be able to give --
Ellie, I don't know if you have the actual image
from the Seattle Times.
The article that you see here down in the corner
is from the Legacy Collection.
You have this newspaper article in the Legacy Collection.
I am really thankful and grateful to the Smith family
for trusting the Black Heritage Society
for being the stewards of this Legacy Collection
that is just so beautiful, deep, and rich.
Ellie reached out to us in, oh, 2019
and began the conversation with us
about accepting the collection.
We hold a number of legacy collections,
and some of our archives go back to the 1890s Washington --
Well, just before Washington became a state,
but Black people and the history of Black people.
So this Legacy Collection really meant a lot to us.
We went out and sat down
and talked with Ellie a couple of times,
and we wanted to be able to accept everything,
but we sort of put some limits and some control
on what we could handle and manage in the collection.
But when the collection arrived, oh, my goodness.
Really beautiful and large.
And, Ellie, thank you so much
for the way that you put together
the detail on the categories.
I can't tell you how much that means to a collections team
when a collection arrives and it's already set in boxes
and sorted and sticky notes and tells you what goes where
and how come it's important.
And that helped to guide, you know, our process
in determining how to assess this collection.
So, that was just before COVID, right, hit,
and we were at least a good year out of the collection
before we could really get back in
and really dive into all of the boxes.
And you can see in this photograph here
on my left,
some of the boxes that arrived with all of their notes
and this really wonderful portrait
of the judge sitting on top of these boxes.
Today I would say that maybe --
And, Stephanie Spearman, you can correct me,
but we are so close.
We're getting so close to actually touching
that final piece within this collection.
It's huge. It's over 800 pieces.
I know she's giving me the side eye just a little bit
like, "Mnh. I don't know."
Because we're touching every single piece
that has come to us,
so every document, every photograph,
every speech, every single sheet of paper,
to make sure that we're not missing everything
and assigning it as it needs to be assigned.
Because we do know that
there is interest in this collection,
and we want to be able
to provide it and make it accessible
to anyone who wants to come and do their research.
We are also really excited that we have it on a priority
and on a list to digitize this collection.
One of the things that we pride ourselves in
is that we hold primary sources, right?
So this is a majority primary-sourced collection,
and if we can manage to digitize
the majority of it, if not everything,
then we can share it out more broadly.
We love it when people come to the archive
and sit down, put on the white gloves,
and go through all the photos
and ask all the right questions to the collections team.
But if we can manage to digitize this collection,
I mean, imagine how far and wide we can share that.
So we do work, and have been working,
to fund some of that work
with our partners at the National Museum
and at the Smithsonian,
but also more locally with funds that are coming to us
from King County 4Culture.
And I see you, Cassie Chinn, in the room.
Really beautiful opportunity
that they provide BHS
to do the work that we do in collections.
So, aside from all of those items that I mentioned
that are held within the collection,
some of my favorites are the portraits, right?
There are two portraits
that were taken by Josef Scaylea, right,
the renowned photographer,
chief photographer at "The Seattle Times."
Beautiful, beautiful portraits.
And then there's an oil painting,
a rather large one, that was --
I think it was Yadesa.
Am I pronouncing his name correctly?
He's a fabulous artist.
And this oil painting is just fabulous.
So we're really anxious for people to see it.
And we'll do more promotion of this collection.
And right now we have a small exhibit
at Douglass-Truth Library that coincides with this event.
And so I hope you'll get a chance to get to the library.
And on the lower floor,
there's this beautiful case there.
AKA sponsors that case at Douglass-Truth Library.
And we have --
We'll have some artifacts there from the collection,
but also this beautiful shout-out to Justice Smith.
So, again, thank you so much for trusting us.
And I'm starting to get a little bit emotional like I do.
I always do.
So, appreciating you so, so much.
And later in this program, I want to give you a chance.
And I see Lazelle Johnson, too.
So much respect for you.
To see you here this evening.
To say a few words, if you'd like.
So I'll keep moving
because I want to be able to introduce to you
my sister from another mother.
The fabulous...
...friend...
Carol Peoples-Procter,
who's the vice president at the Black Heritage Society,
who will introduce some of our guest speakers tonight.
Carol, I'm going to -- I know, Carol.
Yeah, I know. No, we don't. No, we don't.
-Thank you, Stephanie.
Ooh. You all look so beautiful.
It feels so powerful in here.
I know nobody's greater than God,
but God made everybody in here,
so that's why it's feeling so wonderful.
I'm Carol Peoples-Procter,
and I have the honor of serving
the Black Heritage Society for a number of years,
and I'm so proud of us
because we are so serious about being history keepers.
And we have this time capsule that's our crown jewel,
and we know it and we're proud of it.
And so partners like MOHAI,
who allow us a space of this level
when we get to have programs like this
so that we can learn more about ourselves.
And it's history that -- It's history.
So, yeah, we're Black, but this is history
that contributes to this country and world.
So thank you for our partnership with MOHAI.
Thank you for coming tonight.
And we're just delving deeper and deeper
because we contribute to this state.
I get to introduce the panelists,
and the first one is Judge LeRoy McCullough.
Retired. Retired. Remember that?
That's why we can never get ahold of him.
Because he's retired.
And you better catch him when he's available,
which isn't often.
But we were lucky that he's here tonight
helping make this program
to the level that it's going to be.
He was elected to the Superior Court in 1989
with the encouragement of the Honorable Charles V. Johnson,
the first Black judge in Seattle.
Judge McCullough is also the co-founder
of the Charles V. Johnson Youth & Law Forum,
which supports students from underrepresented communities
in pursuing legal careers.
And, boy, do we need that more than ever.
This group really needs to be celebrated
and continued encouragement
because we need --
we're trying to lose our democracy
with the current administration and its judges,
and this body that's going --
That we can at least throw a law and try to enforce it, so...
Judge Lori K. Smith,
Washington State Court of Appeals.
Judge Lori K. Smith is a judge for District 1
of Washington Court of Appeals, District 1.
A former senior deputy prosecutor for King County,
Judge Smith was awarded in 2011 and 2023.
Judge Smith is the first African-American woman
to be appointed
to the Washington State Appellate Court.
And that's one thing that we're proud of at BHS,
is that we --
It doesn't even matter how old you are.
When you do something for a first time,
you could be five years old,
we want to hear about it.
We care.
We really do care. And we want to educate.
Justice Helen Whitener,
Washington State Superior Court Justice.
Helen Whitener has been a Washington State
Supreme Court Justice since 2020.
Justice Whitener served
as a Pierce County Superior Court judge
and a judge on the Washington State
Board of Industrial Insurance Appeals.
Justice Whitener is the first Black woman
to serve on the Washington State Superior Court
and the first black LGBT...
Supreme Court Justice in the nation.
And the youth.
Kenny -- I'm gonna say this right -- Ouedraogo.
Did I say it right? Yay!
As you can hear, I'm a little challenged,
so thank you that I said that right.
Seattle University. The first-year student senator.
Kenny is the first-year student at --
He is a first-year student at the Seattle University
studying political science, specializing in legal studies.
Kenny is currently serving as the first-year senator
on the student government of Seattle University.
Most notably, Kenny is a constituent-services intern
at the office of Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell
for the past three summers.
And he's here with us tonight,
so we've got an exciting evening.
Think about becoming a member.
Those who write the story tell the story.
If we don't deliver this information,
it won't get delivered.
So please consider joining us at BHS.
And if you enjoy volunteering,
if you're newly retired and need something to do,
we'll keep you busy.
You'll wonder how you had time to work.
Thank you.
-We really want to invite each one of the judges
and the justice and Kenny.
Please come in the order that Carol announced you.
So, Judge McCullough, please...
-I have to get my clearance.
I have to get my directions.
As I move slowly up there.
-Yes. -Alright, alright.
Good evening to everyone.
So, I have permission from these wonderful people
who are associated with the Black Heritage Society
to do a couple of things.
So, the first thing I'm going to do
in honor of Black History Month and in honor of our ancestors
is to inquire of Mother Smith and Mother Johnson,
whether or not we have your permission
as community elders to proceed.
Do we have your permission?
Alright. Thank you so much.
The second thing I want to do
is thank all of you for your support.
From 1989 until 2025, when I was finally free,
retired from King County Superior Court.
But I would like for all of our judicial officers,
those who were honored by the incredible poetry of Jaye Ware.
If you would stand, regardless --
From Tacoma, Olympia, Snohomish County.
Would all of our judicial officers, active and retired --
Would you just stand and receive...
Remain standing.
I think they want to take pictures
and maybe get some autographs from you later.
Thank you very much.
See, they made a mistake of giving me a microphone.
They won't do that again.
So let me thank you again.
Bless you all for being here this evening.
I do want to share a few comments
before these incredible co-panelists of mine
join me here on this stage.
Life for me, life for us has been no crystal stair.
It has had tacks in it.
We've had to go up places where there was no light.
Sometimes there was no carpet.
But we didn't rest. We kept moving.
You remember that poem by Langston Hughes,
"Mother to Son."
And that is really the life of the judicial officers.
On a lighter note,
how many of you remember the Rolaids commercial?
It says, "How do you spell relief?"
Do you remember that? So how do you spell "relief"?
They would say R-O-L-A-I-D-S and all of that.
For many of the young people,
the middle-aged people, the elders,
people coming from the community,
coming into our court system,
you spell "relief"
by these judges and these judicial officers
that you have seen stand here tonight.
I went through some of the materials.
I read some of the quotes.
And whether it's Pierce County, Thurston County, Kitsap County.
Where's my Kitsap County judge? Where are you?
Yes, yes, of course. We have one in Kitsap County, too.
Alright. Judge Cadine Ferguson.
The consistent message is that when several individuals
who may be of color
walk into a courtroom, they may be anxious.
Maybe they didn't get a parking space.
Maybe they didn't get treated properly
as they proceeded through the process.
But when they walk in, judicial officers,
and see you and you and you and you,
they breathe, they exhale.
It's a relief because
they have somebody, presumptively,
who knows their story,
who can understand where they were coming from.
And whether when you win or lose,
there is a certain credibility
that comes with having
a diverse, qualified, excellent bench,
as is represented here this evening.
250 years ago. July 4, 1776.
Your history lesson.
13 rebellious colonies adopted unanimously
an open letter of rebuke to a king.
I didn't say anything about the No Kings protest.
But it was a rebuke to a king, George III of England.
The declaration began by saying
that it's -- we don't need any proof.
It's self-evident that all are created equal
with inalienable rights
of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
At the time that this was written,
at the time that it was adopted,
there were approximately 500,000 enslaved
in these United States colonies.
What were some of the abuses
that they complained to that king about?
Thomas Jefferson, the primary writer, said,
"Let the facts be submitted to a candid world."
So he complained about things like this.
"King George has kept arms among us in times of peace,
standing armies without the consent of our legislatures."
Prescient? What do you think?
What else did they complain about?
"He has made judges dependent on his will alone
for the tenure of their offices
and the amount and payment of their salaries."
I think they used to say in the church,
"There is nothing new under the sun."
So here we are, some 250 years later,
asking the question, what's the verdict?
Here we are in this beautiful facility.
Thank you, MOHAI.
Here we are working with these incredible people
from the Black Heritage Society to raise the question.
And we want to say that we are going to make sure
that the verdict is going to be a positive one.
For the 400 and some judges in Washington state,
some 700 judicial officers across the nation,
we all have different experiences,
and I'm going to close with a couple of comments,
because these were drawn from experiences
that some of us have had.
Justice Smith, Judge Johnson, two of my many mentors,
talked with me, counseled me,
many of us who are in the room,
some of my Black law-enforcement officers
who were partners with us in the Youth & Law Forum.
Dr. Margaret Spearman, our coordinator, is here.
But we wanted you to know that a day in the life
of an African-American judge might look like this.
And thank you again, Jaye.
Driving up to your parking space, Mother Johnson,
to see the N-word scrawled on your parking sign.
Having a prosecutor report what time you get to work
to your presiding judge and then having that presiding judge
counsel you about what time you get to work,
even though you may leave after 12 hours of work.
Wondering whether your membership in the NAACP
or other social-justice organization
will be considered disqualifying.
Supporting a request from a Latinx or other community
that relocation or eviction notices
be presented in both languages.
Reminding an African-American witness
who was hostile to police...
"Brother, you can do this. Now, just stop it."
Because we have the ability sometimes to talk to people
in a way that others cannot.
Holding a DSHS worker accountable
for attempting to divide a family.
This worker was asked,
why was a Black child going into foster care?
The worker said there was no family
that could hold this teenage child.
To which Judge Patricia Clark, may she rest in peace,
said, "Doesn't he have an uncle
or doesn't she have an uncle in Texas?"
"Well, yes, Your Honor, but he's old."
"In our community," Judge Clark said, "it doesn't matter.
We take care of each other. What's your next problem?"
"Well, Your Honor, he's got diabetes."
"Girl. Are you serious? Everybody got diabetes.
What's your next issue?"
And she continued to work through all of the excuses
that were given to keep that child in the system,
rather than putting that child in a familial relationship.
That's a day in the life of an African-American judge.
Working with a mentally ill African-American defendant
who had been approved to represent himself,
came into my court and wanted to represent himself.
That's not going to happen.
We talked.
We counseled.
And we took the time so that that individual
then was able to get a lawyer.
We're talking about fighting a culturally insensitive body
that sometimes looks at Black women in a certain way,
so that one of our sister judges was told
that she was rude, mean, aggressive, and bold,
and that she should not be on the bench.
Fortunately, because we have an incredible Supreme Court,
that particular decision was overturned.
So I ask the question again.
How do we spell "relief"?
You spell it with some incredible,
positive, and supportive African-American judges
who are going to be featured in the Black Heritage Collection
of the Black Heritage Society.
I thank you. I thank you.
In the words of my children from Ghana, "medaase."
In the words of my family from East Africa, "asante sana."
Thank you so much.
-It would be really bad if on my way up here, I went splat.
So I'm glad that didn't happen.
I'm really happy to be here,
really happy to be able to talk to you all.
And I first am going to give you just a little
of my history of getting to the bench.
Each of us, all the judges, have their own history,
but I think there's a commonality
to Black judges getting to the bench.
Mentorship, seeing someone in that position,
making you realize that you, too, could be there.
So I'm just going to give you a brief history for me.
And also because 100 years of Black History Month
is this year.
It's just a wonderful time to be here
and to be talking about these things.
I never thought about law school.
I was going to be a social worker.
And when I was in high school,
my dad was in the Air Force.
He retired in Spokane.
Someone from Wazzou's -- I know --
Black Student Union came
and spoke to my high school,
and they said, "Don't stop at a four-year degree."
You should get more than that.
Because more than that will get you in the room,
will let you make decisions,
will push you further in the company
or whatever it is you want to do.
And so I knew I was going to college,
because my parents said I was,
but I had never thought about the next step until then.
And so then I thought, "Well, what kind of degree
goes with social work?"
And when I was in college, I had a person
who was helping me figure out what my next steps would be.
And he said, "You know, a law degree.
You can do anything with that law degree."
And I said, "Well, I'm not going to be a lawyer."
So you see I can't really predict my future
because here I am.
And so I said, "Okay, I'll do that."
And I started thinking about the criminal justice system
and maybe I could do something to help reform that system,
and that law degree would be really helpful to me.
And then I went to law school,
and I had Justice Charles Smith for criminal law.
And I was like, "Oh, my goodness."
It never even occurred to me to be a lawyer,
even though I was in law school, whenever I was done,
let alone to think about being a judge.
And let me tell you, I didn't when he was my professor either.
But I did think about being a lawyer
because I thought, "My goodness.
All this great work that he's done,
and then he became a justice on the Supreme Court.
Maybe this is something that maybe I should do."
And I took some of the advocacy classes, and I did okay in them.
And my grandfather once told me
I liked to argue from the time I was three,
so maybe it was actually meant to be.
And when I was finished with law school,
I went to the prosecutor's office,
and I thought I would retire there
because, you know, it was a nice job.
I'd get a pension. It would be fine.
But mentorship is a powerful thing.
And when I was there, there was Judge Huggins-Smith,
there was Judge Charles Johnson,
there was Judge Don Haley, Judge McCullough,
who were all very supportive of me
and such wonderful examples
of how to be dignified, how to be true to yourself,
how to be a judicial officer
and still be a Black human being in the world.
And I just thought, "This is sort of amazing.
I'm not going to do it, but that's amazing."
And then people -- I did a lot of family law,
and people said, "You know, you should think
about being a family-law commissioner."
And I'm like, "No, no. That's not happening."
And they're like, "No, really. You have these skills.
It would be a good idea."
And so finally I said, "Well, maybe."
Bonnie Canada-Thurston, a dear friend of mine,
was a family-law commissioner, first Black one, female,
and I talked to her, and she said,
"It's a lot of work, but I think you would like it."
So I put my name in. I got the job.
And my first day, I walked into the courtroom,
and it was filled with people,
overwhelmingly filled with people.
And you know the fear response that you have?
Freezing, running, or fighting.
Mine is usually fight. I don't know why.
But then I was going to run away.
It took everything in me to walk and sit down in the chair.
And it was a good thing I did that
because the door behind me was locked by mistake,
so I would have run away to a locked door.
Doubly embarrassing.
But that didn't happen.
And I looked up and I saw these people sitting in the back
that were people of color, and I saw them smiling at me.
And I, as a prosecutor in the courtroom in family law,
rarely saw litigants smiling.
And then it occurred to me
they're smiling at me because I look like them
and they see me in this black robe.
And it was a huge awakening for me
of how important it was
to have judicial officers that look like you.
I don't think they were expecting
I was going to do them any favors.
I don't think they were thinking they were going to
have an easier row to hoe.
I just think they thought
that they would be heard and understood,
and I hope that that was something that I did.
So I thought I'd retire from that job,
again, since I don't know my future.
I had people who were being very supportive
of me trying to be a judge.
And I thought, you know,
you have to run for election when you're a judge.
And as a commissioner, you get the job,
and unless the judges fire you, you have it forever.
So I'm not running. I'm not going to be a judge.
But then people talked about the difference
it would make to be a judge
rather than a family-law commissioner
and that I should just try it.
And at one point, my husband said to me,
"I don't think God wants you to be homeless,
so I think you should try this.
And if it doesn't work out, you will get another job.
Don't worry about that."
And so I did,
and I was appointed and I got on the bench,
and one of the first calendars I had
was a sentencing calendar,
a plea and sentencing calendar.
And those are really tough things to do
for any judicial officer.
People are pleading guilty to all manner of crimes.
And in our state, we have a sentencing guideline,
and unless there are extreme circumstances,
you really can't wander out of that guideline.
And so here you are about to send people away
for a significant amount of time,
and you listen to the victim and you listen to the defendant,
and then you make a decision.
And, of course, many, many of those people
were men of color, young men of color.
And I thought, "This isn't why I became a judge.
This is a hard thing to do,
and it's a hard thing to get through.
And how do I make this experience
not one of the most horrible experiences of their life
because of me?"
It's already going to be pretty bad because of what we're doing,
but what can I do to make it less horrible for them?
And so I thought, well, what would I want in that situation?
And when the victims came and gave their story,
I was very sympathetic to them.
And when the defendants said what they wanted to say
and people spoke on their behalf,
I listened to them.
And then I tried to find a glimmer
of some future hope for them.
And a lot of times,
especially when they were very young men,
I would say to them, "When you get out,
you will still be a relatively young person.
You still have a future.
You still have the ability to make a difference in your life."
If they had kids, I said, "You still can be a father,"
and that, "Your children
will be waiting for you when you get out."
I just tried to say something positive.
More than once, they said to me,
"That's the first time anyone has ever said
that I would have a future,"
which astounded me on the one hand,
but I could understand it on the other hand.
And I thought, so maybe this is hard for me,
but it's much more hard for them.
And maybe this is part of why I'm here,
so that I can make a difference in their life.
And so I was going to retire from that,
being a Superior Court judge.
Again, don't know my future, so that didn't happen.
And people came to me and said, "You know,
you should think about the Court of Appeals."
And I was like, "That is hilarious."
Like, the idea that I would be writing all the time,
reading all the time, making these decisions.
My name would be in those books that never go...
No, that's not happening.
And I said, "Why do you even think
that would be something that I could do?"
Because you don't write a lot at Superior Court.
You know, you write orders, but you don't write a lot.
I'm thinking, "How do you even know I can write?"
They were like, "No, no, no.
You can learn that if you can't write.
But we really think that you see things clearly,
and this would be a good step for you."
Along the way, I got on The Minority and Justice Commission,
which is currently co-chaired by Justice Whitener.
And on that commission, we do a lot of education of judges.
When Justice Yu was the co-chair,
she made sure that we always were looking at the mission
of The Minority and Justice Commission
when we were looking at education.
And so we were talking about implicit bias.
We were talking about the science of brain.
We were talking about equity.
All of those things that we were trying
to teach judicial officers
so that they would make better decisions.
And I remember when people were saying,
"You should think about the Court of Appeals,"
that I would sometimes read decisions and I would think,
"I think they may have missed something here.
There's something in here
that's more than just what they're seeing."
And then I'm like, "Oh, my goodness.
I think maybe that's why they think I should be
on the Court of Appeals."
And I decided to try. I got appointed.
And I didn't even think at the time
that I would be the first African-American woman
ever appointed to an appellate court
in the state of Washington.
I think if I would have thought about that,
I would have said, "Oh, no, I'm not doing that."
But it didn't even occur to me for some reason.
I think Michael Spearman, whose place I took,
was keeping that from me on purpose
because he didn't want me to think about that
and he didn't want me to run from that.
And then when I got on, he said, "You know,
you're the first African-American..."
I'm like, "Oh, my Lord."
And with that comes, you know --
I thought about all the people who had mentored me,
all the people who had held me up,
all the people that were the reason that I was there
and how important it was that I do a really good job
because I was the first and I didn't want to be the last.
Luckily, phew, not too long after,
Helen was appointed to the Supreme Court,
and so then there were two of us on the appellate court.
And I will say that I have experienced,
on the appellate court,
being in a room with people who don't think like I think
but who would listen.
We sit in panels of three.
There were times when I would say,
"You know, that's not what's really going on here.
I think this is what's going on here.
And maybe we need to look at it through that lens."
And they actually listened.
And I think our opinions got better and reflected that.
And I had some of them, white men,
tell me that they were very grateful
that I was on the Court of Appeals,
that they thought it made a difference.
And I thought back to when I very first
walked into presiding court,
and Charles Johnson was the presiding judge,
and it was a big courtroom,
and you got sent out for your trials there.
And I remember I needed to ask for a continuance.
And every time you asked him for a continuance,
he'd look over his glasses and say,
"But today is your trial date."
As if, you know, like,
"Excuse me. What are you going to do?"
And I had a good reason, but I was very nervous.
And I did it. He was very kind. I got my continuance.
And I thought to think back
to when I was a baby deputy in that courtroom,
and now I'm on the Court of Appeals
being able to make a huge difference is just phenomenal.
I think that the judicial branch of government
is, you know, in a little bit of trouble right now.
I think that we all need to be sure
that we are recognizing that,
as a separate branch of government,
we have the responsibility, we have our own agenda,
and we have the right
to make the decisions that we need to make.
And, frankly, the U.S. Constitution
and the Washington State Constitution
give us all the things that we need
to be able to make the right decisions.
It's just a matter of recognizing that
and moving forward.
And in this, 250 years of the United States,
it's even more important that we keep that in mind
as we're making these decisions.
And mentorship is everything.
And when I look at Kenny, I think,
"My God! The future is wonderful!"
So I'm very happy to be here. And thank you for listening.
-Well, I made it up the stairs.
And I'm standing.
And that's really important.
Because in 2023,
I had my back reconstructed.
Ten levels.
The fifth done on the West Coast.
So I shouldn't be standing here right now.
When I got the invitation -- and I'll put it nicely --
the invitation from Judge McCullough...
It's never an invitation. It's a directive.
But when I got the invitation to be here this evening...
...and when I understood the task,
I immediately got on my phone
and started texting every Black judge that I knew
indicating, "You need to be in this room."
On July 4, 2026,
our nation will commemorate and celebrate
the 250th anniversary of the signing
of the Declaration of Independence.
And this evening's engagement is "America 250: The Verdict Is?"
Well, I have been thinking of what this all means
or should mean today for me as a Black jurist in America.
I've been thinking of the legacy
of our first Black Supreme Court Justice,
Thurgood Marshall,
and what he said in many speeches he gave
that I see as relevant today.
I'm thinking of the legacy of Black jurors
within Washington state,
many of whom are present here this evening.
The Washington Supreme Court
began in 1889 at the start of the statehood,
and 100 justices served on the bench
as of this year.
Until the 1980s, women and people of color
lacked the opportunity
to become Supreme Court justices in this state
due to significant barriers,
including lack of voting rights at state and federal levels,
immigration, and citizenship laws,
and exclusion from membership in the State Bar Association.
In the early 1900s,
monumental gains were made for some women,
and the era is known for landmark court decisions
that had detrimental impacts on people of color
and indigenous persons in the legal profession.
In 1902, this state's Supreme Court
denied bar admission to a gentleman,
Takuji Yamashita,
following his graduation
from the University of Washington School of Law
because he was not a U.S. citizen.
That decision was affirmed and upheld in 1922
by the United States Supreme Court.
In 1910, the voters approved a constitutional amendment
enshrining voting rights to some women,
and a year later, this state was the first
to authorize female jurors by statute.
Like many other suffrage laws in the United States,
the new law excluded many women of color.
In 1965, Justice Charles Z. Smith
became the state's first African-American judge
when he was appointed to the Seattle Municipal Court.
And one year later, in 1966,
he was appointed to the King County
Superior Court bench.
In 1967,
the country saw a Black man
ascend to the country's highest court,
and that was Justice Thurgood Marshall.
So Justice Z. Smith...
...got here before Thurgood Marshall got there.
In 1969,
we had Judge Charles V. Johnson
join the Seattle Municipal Court,
where he presided over cases until his retirement in 1980.
That same year, in 1969,
Judge Joseph Jerome Farris became the first
African-American judge to be appointed
to the Washington State Court of Appeals,
where he served for 10 years before being appointed
to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
In 1983,
the first Black female, Norma S. Huggins,
was appointed to the Seattle Municipal Court
and later served on the King County Superior Court.
In 1988,
Justice Smith was appointed to the state Supreme Court,
where he served for a total of 14 years.
In 2002, when he retired from the Supreme Court,
he was then the longest-serving justice
on our state's Supreme Court.
In 1989,
Judge LeRoy McCullough joined the King County Superior Court
and continued the exemplary service his predecessors left
on the Washington judiciary.
In 2017, Judge Nicole Gaines Phelps
became the first African-American woman
to win a contested election
for a King County Superior Court seat.
2018, Judge Lori K. Smith was appointed
to the Court of Appeals,
becoming the first Black female to do so,
after being a King County
Superior Court judge for six years
and a court commissioner for many years before that.
In 2020, like Judge Nicole Gaines Phelps,
we have a Black female judge out of Thurston County,
Judge Sharonda D. Amamilo,
who became the first elected Black judge
on the Thurston County Superior Court.
Are you sensing a pattern?
When you see it, you become it.
You know you can do it.
That same year, I was appointed and subsequently elected twice
to the Washington State Supreme Court,
following in the footsteps of these impressive
and accomplished Black jurists.
At that time, COVID was running rampant.
And like you, I never thought
I would see a Black female U.S. Supreme Court Justice.
Ketanji Brown Jackson reached a high court.
Now, Justice Thurgood Marshall,
who believed in the benefits of a good education
because, you know, he always fought for us to be educated,
said, "It is our unceasing responsibility
to use our knowledge and training
for improving the lives of others.
What matters is to remember always the obligation
we bear to the society that has placed us in a position
where we can afford an education."
In pursuit of equality,
Justice Marshall stressed the facts
that Blacks joined America's military to fight its wars
and invested untold hours
working in its factories and on its farms,
contributing to the development of this country's
magnificent wealth
and waiting to share in its prosperity.
"What is striking," he said,
"is the role legal principles have played
throughout America's history
in determining the condition of Negroes.
They were enslaved by law, emancipated by law,
disenfranchised and segregated by law,
and, finally, they have begun to win equality by law."
He saw our progress as dramatic and continuing to change
to meet the challenges of a changing society.
The founders and the framers of this great nation
could not have envisioned these changes.
They could not have imagined, nor would they have accepted
that that document,
two of them, that they were drafting,
would one day be construed by a Supreme Court
to which had appointed descendants of African slaves.
"The credit," he said, "does not belong
to the founders or the framers.
It belongs to those who refuse to acquiesce
in outdated notions of liberty, justice, and equality
and who strived to better them."
America 250: The Verdict Is?"
Well, we have done well.
Look around this room of Black jurists in Washington state
and commend yourselves for doing well.
However, the work is not done and will not be done
until we are all truly equal.
In this room, there are many firsts,
and I'd like to introduce some of them.
We have Andrea Jarmon. Stand.
Andrea is the first Muslim woman to be seated...
Black Muslim woman to be seated on a bench in Washington state.
What's amazing about Andrea's story
is she had no intentions of seeking that position.
But the judge in the seat that she now sits in
was comfortable enough
to be using the N-word in meetings,
and that became news.
And Andrea reached out to me and say,
"I'm going for it.
I am going to make a difference."
And she has.
We have two jurists.
Cadine Ferguson-Brown. Stand.
And Judge Okoloko. Stand.
These are two immigrant-born judges like myself,
my Caribbean sister and my African brother,
who came to America and decided
to make a difference by seeking a seat on the bench.
They have made a difference.
Judge Ferguson-Brown is the first Black female
to be seated in Kitsap County.
Judge Okoloko followed Judge Lucas
up in Snohomish County,
and he is making a difference there, as well.
There are many others.
My colleague in law school, Judge Dwayne Christopher,
my study partner for the bar exam.
It's nice to see him on the bench in Pierce County.
-Yes. Yes.
Judge Davis, who I swore in. Stand.
On the Pierce County Superior Court bench.
When I joined the bench in Pierce County in 2015...
...the only seated Black male and the only Black male
that ever sat on that bench, Judge Cuthbertson,
he's retired now.
I joined him after we lost one of our seats.
Judge Beverly Grant
was the first Black female on that bench.
So I was the second.
And Judge Cuthbertson was the only one there at the time.
We made a pact
that by the time either one of us leaves --
and I thought I would be staying and he would be retiring.
We'd never envision me ascending to the high court.
We made a pact,
by the time either one of us left that position,
that we would make sure there were others following.
And when I left, there were six on all levels.
You heard a lot about King County.
This is our largest electorate and our largest county.
I think there are like 55 judges,
and it's such a beautiful thing when I come to Seattle,
to see so many judges of color and Black judges.
Let's not forget what has happened
and what we have seen happen on the federal bench.
The state-court judges make a difference in our daily lives.
They have to be representative
of the people that we are serving.
Too many of our people, Black individuals,
are coming before us in the court.
And it's not because they want to.
It's because they're being brought in.
Parallels.
Slavery.
Disenfranchisement.
Shackling.
Okay. You call it --
They're chained up. It's shackling.
And we had a case when I first joined the court,
State v. Jackson, where we addressed that.
It's dehumanizing.
What's the difference
a person of color, a Black individual can make
on our bench?
A huge difference.
So as we think about celebrating 250 years passed...
...I don't know about you,
but I'm planning for 250 more years forward.
Thank you.
-Good evening, everyone. -Good evening.
-Thank you. -So, happy Black History Month.
I'm grateful to have the honor
of being on this panel with such distinguished judges
who made history in our state
and, you know, put themselves in the history books.
And many people here being the first,
but working to make sure that they're not the last.
And so, in paving that way to strive for Black excellence,
for Black and brown youth, to strive for that,
I'll kind of tell a brief story before I get into my remarks.
But I'm a proud graduate of the class of 2018
at Thurgood Marshall Elementary School.
And so I say that because my childhood
was filled with hope for our country's next 250 years.
And in fifth grade, on Thurgood Marshall Day,
which is in February,
the very first judge that I met
was Judge Anita Crawford-Willis,
presiding judge of the Seattle Municipal Court.
And so, for me, the very first judge I've ever met,
you know, being a Black woman, that told me
that if you put your mind to it, you can achieve it.
And seeing not only a Black person,
but a woman in power also told me that you don't --
that you can break those historical barriers.
And I also had the privilege of growing up as a child
and seeing President Barack Obama
and our first lady, Michelle Obama,
as the first Black people in their roles,
and they gave many children like me hope
for what the promise of America can be for all of us.
And, so, as many look at the 250 years
of our nation being signified
by the signing of the Declaration of Independence,
which declares the self-evident truths
that we are all created equal,
that life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness
are our inalienable rights as human beings,
and truer words have never been spoken.
But, however, I'd like to turn our attention
to an equally important document
not yet in its 250th anniversary,
but one that was created 238 years ago,
the Constitution of the United States.
As a guiding philosophical and moral document,
the ideals inscribed in the Declaration of Independence
cannot become a reality
unless we have a legal system to carry them out.
The document of "We the People."
Crafted by 55 delegates in a hot room
in Independence Hall in Philadelphia during the summer,
the Constitution created the structure for our government
to this day
and created the laws that would defend
the liberties and freedoms of people.
But, however, it was not meant for all the people.
With half of those delegates
at the convention being slave owners,
the freedom thought to have been guaranteed
for mankind was selective.
As soon as you get to Article I, Section 2
of the Constitution --
And before I keep getting into my remarks,
I should say that, as an aspiring law student,
I read the Constitution every few months to learn,
and I always learn something new every time I read it.
But a couple times ago, I read it.
I started paying more attention to the hidden --
Not the hidden, but more the covert meanings
behind slavery.
With Article I, Section 2 saying that --
In discussing how the census is to work,
which determines how many representatives
each state is entitled to,
it starts by -- Part of it says --
Counts each white person as one whole person,
and 3/5 of all other persons, the enslaved Black people.
This is an ugly compromise,
where the slave owners had it both ways,
where they could get the enslaved Black people
that they owned to count
and add more to their population
and gave them more representatives in the House
and gave them more Electoral College votes.
But they also got both sides of the coin,
where the other side was they were still able
to dehumanize those that looked like me
and not count us as full and equal people under the law.
And in addition to banning Congress
from suspending the right of habeas corpus
or granting titles of nobility,
Article I, Section 9
barred the Congress from making any law
that would ban the slave trade before the year 1808,
but it allowed the Congress to levy taxes on imported slaves,
just as long as it didn't exceed $10 per person.
And the next thing I'd like to point you to is Article IV,
which talks about the rights that states have
and how they are to exist among each other.
Section 2 of that article
talks about the extradition of criminals
who flee from one state to another
and separately talks about
what to do with escaped slaves in detail.
As said in the Constitution,
there were to be "delivered upon the Claim of the Party
to whom such service or labor may be due."
And with the Fugitive Slave Acts of 1793 and 1850,
white slave catchers could snatch anyone they wanted,
escaped or free, with no due process,
and send them to conditions of subhuman status,
which sounds very familiar nearly 250 years later.
And similar to the 13th Amendment,
which, although it did end slavery
and the legality of trading humans like cattle,
separating them from their families,
or beating them for having the audacity to dream of freedom,
it still to this day allows for involuntary servitude
when it's a punishment for a crime.
And ever since its ratification in 1865,
it created the mass incarceration system
as we know it today.
And one thing to note in the Constitution
is that it never once uses the word "slavery"
until the 13th Amendment came along.
But the document before that amendment
sought to preserve, protect, and defend
such an ugly institution.
And although our Constitution has many intentional flaws
and it was selective about who would attain those rights
enumerated in our Declaration,
there are many parts of it that give me hope
for what our country can be.
The 14th Amendment established birthright citizenship,
equal protection under the laws, regardless of people's status,
and said that states,
in addition to the federal government,
cannot deprive people of their due process,
which is something that was only observed at the federal level
before the passage and enactment of that amendment.
And something to note that's very similar,
the Civil Rights Act of 1964
and the Voting Rights Act of 1965,
which shows that the advancement
in rights and equality for Black people
have been the advancement
of rights and equality for all people.
And we still have those today who would claim
that Black history is not American history.
Or when you look at the 15th Amendment
that says the right to vote shall not be denied
on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.
Or when you get to the 19th Amendment
that says the right to vote cannot be denied
on the account of gender.
Or the 24th Amendment, which abolished the poll tax
and abolished the pay-to-vote system
that would be a barrier for many people,
especially today,
with the massive wealth inequalities
that exist in our country and our world.
Or when you look at the 26th Amendment,
which lowered the voting age from 21 to 18,
so many students like me,
in addition to dealing with the pressures of adulthood
that are incumbent upon us,
we also have the right to vote
and have a say in how our society is run.
Or when you look at the 17th Amendment,
which allowed for people to directly elect their senators.
A controversial idea before that,
but was an idea that many fought for before.
And we're just looking at the Bill of Rights
that protects our freedom of speech,
freedom from search and seizure,
and ensuring the protection of our due-process rights,
the right to an attorney,
the right to a jury trial,
and the right against cruel and unusual punishment.
And all of these are rights that are deeply enshrined
in our legal system to the degree
where we think that they're basic.
However, they're not.
These are extraordinary rights
that many people fought and died for
and we cannot take for granted.
Many of them, like our ancestors,
fought and died knowing that they wouldn't be able
to enjoy those rights
but hoped and prayed that their children
and their grandchildren would be able to enjoy them.
Rights that were fought hard for at the battlefields
of Yorktown and Gettysburg
and Independence Hall, where they drafted
the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution...
the streets of Selma or the March on Washington
or the courtrooms and many other places in the land
where people stand up and say, "We deserve better."
And because the Constitution is a document
that allows us to codify
the Declaration of Independence into law,
it has allowed us to expand many rights for Americans
and expand the way that they're implemented.
But, lastly, I'd like to recite my most favorite part
of the Constitution, which is the Preamble.
And it gives me hope for the next 250 years of our country,
where, in the future, a 19-year-old college student
can give a similar speech
and for once declare that every person lives in America
and around the world equal, dignified, and free
and that it will be true because it's reflected
in the actions of our society as it is declared in our laws
that, "We the people of the United States,
in order to form a more perfect union,
establish justice, insure domestic tranquility,
provide for the common defense,
promote the general welfare,
and secure the blessings of liberty
to ourselves and our posterity,
do ordain and establish this Constitution
for the United States of America."
Thank you.
-Oh. Kenny.
Oh, my gosh. That's pretty hilarious.
Well, what a privilege to be in this room tonight,
is what I was thinking
as I was sitting here and listening
to our speakers this evening,
and what I know is that, outside of this room,
this is all being recorded.
And so it will be shared out more broadly
than just those of us who are here tonight.
So I am really proud
to be part of this program here tonight.
And I think -- I'm looking for my clicker.
Oh!
Oh. I was getting nervous.
I was like, "Where's my clicker?"
So I'm going to go back just one slide because...
Justice Whitener, you mentioned
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson,
and I, too, had her on my mind about tonight.
And so I love this quote
between these two slides of Lady Justice,
our Lady Liberty,
where we all rise
and then also setting the mark and setting the bar.
I feel like this room
is just graced this evening with a number of esteemed jurists,
and I love that you asked them all to stand
and the applause that you've all received.
I hope, before this evening is over,
that I get a chance to talk to each one of you.
Please don't leave the building without talking to me
because I'm going to be looking for you.
And we just honor you and your paths
and the history that you shared here tonight.
And knowing that it wasn't easy at all, but determined.
Right? I heard that.
And I hope all of you heard that
in the messages that we had this evening.
And I hope to get a chance to, again
expand our collections.
I was going to save this piece for a little bit later,
but I think I'll go ahead and make this announcement now
before we move into some additional comments,
just because I'm so moved at this particular time
to say this, is that...
after a number of conversations with Judge McCullough...
Thank you so much again, Judge.
Carol and I had a discussion yesterday
and then shared out to the board.
I hope they all opened their e-mails this morning
to see that we've made a decision.
And what we'd like to do is to create
a BHS, Black Heritage Society, of Washington State
Archive Fellowship and...
Yes.
We've been very fortunate with support in community,
and we want to be able to give back.
We're taking a few pointers, too, from our partners at MOHAI,
who have a Curators Fellowship.
But we want to expand some of what we do into the archive,
where beginning this fall,
we will invite a college or university student
to come and sit with us for four months
with a $5,000 stipend
to look into our collection and our archive.
Now, I think in the future, we'll allow those students
to decide on what topic kind of floats their boat
or what interests them.
But where we're going to guide them this first time,
this inaugural season, is with the Black judiciary,
the jurists, and the profession, the law profession.
So we're going to encourage them to look at our collection,
see what they see.
It's, you know, a fairly decent collection,
but not as deep as we would hope it to be.
So we hope that all of you in this room will participate
and be part of some of that research.
And so in the end, what our student will do
is to provide a public program.
At the end of this research, this four months
and working in the archive, doing the research,
we'll provide a public program.
And so I --
We still have to work out some of the details,
but we're pretty solid in where we want to go with this.
So I'm really excited that we can say that
and share that with you, particularly Judge McCullough,
because I know that is something that you've expressed
and have been really strong about with Carol and I.
So thank you. -Thank you very much.
-So let's get moving.
Oh, the beauty, right, in these two.
Justice Smith
flanked by Judge Stokes and Judge Johnson,
the Charleses, and all that energy,
all that power,
and how they're connected
in a number of ways to all who spoke here tonight
and others who stood.
And we applaud you, too, in that.
Their influence was something that was instrumental.
And though they are not here with us physically,
they still move us, right?
And they still are there to impress
and inspire all of us and Kenny, too.
Kenny tonight...
I just sat there and I was just nodding through
the whole thing, right?
I am so inspired by your words
when you call out the Constitution,
something that's been on my mind for the last eight years,
at least,
and challenging that.
And all of us, deciding, too.
"The Verdict Is?"
What is that? What does that mean?
You know, we the people. You know, we the governed.
So tonight we heard, you know,
from our speakers, some of that.
And pushing our thought and opinion around that.
We hold a really beautiful, again,
these collections at the Black Heritage Society.
When we talk about judgment.
We hold no judgment within our collections, too.
We preserve them and hold them in trust.
And so no judgment is there.
And so I am feeling like all of this is coming together
this evening and this appreciation, too,
that we have for...
Judge Stokes' family members aren't here tonight,
I don't believe.
I know that we talked with Mrs. Stokes
and her daughter, Stephanie.
And we'll be sure that they see a copy
of this program and presentation this evening.
But we're really fortunate,
here, up front, close and personal,
to have Mrs. Lazelle Johnson
Judge Johnson's wife and backbone.
Right?
We know how that works.
We know how that works and how you hold it down.
And then your own career,
your own promise, and your own path.
And then Eleanor Smith.
Can't say enough about you
and your support for the Black Heritage Society,
how you support your family
and also the judge through his career.
You know, you were instrumental for us a few years ago,
when we were starting to look at ourselves
and evaluate where we were going and where we were headed.
And we always had our heads down in the archive around...
you know, a certain way to do a certain thing.
And when we realized that we needed to move
to a new collections management system,
you were the person who stepped up.
You were the person who said, "I can help you."
And we just appreciate you so much.
We have come quite a ways
since those days a couple of years ago
when you made that promise to us.
And so we're able to advance our systems,
advance our support and would love --
If either of you wonderful women
have anything to say this evening,
we will bring a mic to you.
If you would care to say just a few words
to this audience, we would love it.
Or Steven. Okay.
That would be great, Steven. Thank you.
-...unaccustomed to public speaking as I am...
Certainly.
My name is Steven Smith, and I'm a --
It's an honor to be here on behalf of our family,
to express our deepest gratitude for this historic recognition.
This exhibit includes obviously curated images and artifacts
of my late father, the Honorable Charles Z. Smith,
and it serves as a powerful testament
to Black lives dedicated to the law and social progress.
This evidence is clear.
I'm especially proud to be here this evening with my mother,
Eleanor Martinez Smith, who is seated next to me here.
She recently celebrated her 95th year here,
and we're very proud of that.
I believe my oldest brother and his wife is in the back here.
Carlos, who's been identified.
And while some of my siblings could not be here in person,
they're joined with us in spirit as we recognize
and appreciate our father's enduring legacy
among other significant leaders.
Looking out at this room, I see more than just honored guests.
I see extraordinary individuals who have been
lifelong friends and extensions of our own family.
Each of you carries a distinguished record of service
to the ideals of equality, justice, and truth.
My father reminded us that the law is a living thing
that we are all a part of.
Experiencing this exhibit and seeing the faces of those
who continue this work in our communities here tonight
reassures me that his contributions and dedication
to increasing the meaningful diversity
of the legal profession and judiciary
to reflect who we are as a community
remain very much alive today.
I believe we have all, at one time or another,
been inspired by my father's example,
whether through his public jurisprudence
or his private mentorship.
We'd like to thank the Black Historical Society,
with its dedicated volunteers and supporters,
for giving us this remarkable gift,
a space to remember, and a mandate to reflect.
Thank you.
-Thank you, Steven.
-Good evening.
My remarks are very brief.
Please know that they are from my heart.
It's good seeing so many familiar -- so many faces,
especially the young ones
who are and will fill the void in the judiciary.
And I want those of you who I know personally
to know that it does my heart good
just thinking about your contributions
to the legal profession.
I call my husband by his middle name,
so we'll eliminate some of these Charleses.
When Vernon and I first came to Seattle from Arkansas
in the '50s, there were no Black judges,
and you could count the number of Black attorneys
on one hand.
Vernon and I had the pleasure
of visiting with many of you young judges,
visiting with many of you formally
and informally over the years.
And we both appreciated that you thought so much
about us and our well-being.
It has been mentioned
that no way would we have guessed
that we would be so well-represented
in this 250th anniversary of America.
Keep in mind that you young judges
are the role models now for future generations.
From time to time, Vernon would see something in students
that they didn't see in themselves.
He would take the time to call them out
and to encourage them
to seriously consider the legal profession.
Over the years, a number of law students and attorneys
would ask my husband for study advice,
as well as life advice
because they knew he was willing to listen.
And now it is your turn to mentor students,
because you never know
when spending a little time with someone can create a spark.
A case in point,
the reason Vernon decided to go into law
was a high-school career day
in which a lawyer was a guest speaker.
A spark was lit, and a path was set.
The rest is history.
As the saying goes, helping others
is the rent we pay for the space we take up
here on Earth.
Just know that I am cheering you on and wishing you all the best,
and I'm certain that Vernon is, also.
I am very, very proud of all of you.
-Thank you. -Yes. Thank you.
-Thank you so much.
-All of that wisdom, all that you've shared,
I am taking it in,
and I know that everyone else in the room, too.
And this, too, reminds me that at BHS,
we are very proud of our oral history projects and programs.
And those who were behind that early on,
Esther Hall Mumford,
co-founder of the Black Heritage Society,
along with Jacqueline Lawson,
take pride in our oral histories.
And so I'm reminded here tonight, too,
that we need to step it up just a pace
and reach out to our judges and others
and record those histories
because all we hold is in perpetuity
at the Black Heritage Society.
And when I say in perpetuity,
you know, tomorrow and beyond.
So I'm just really excited and inspired
to get together with our board,
inviting a couple of new board members to join us.
And I'm going to say this out loud
because we're really working toward bringing
Ryan Donaldson and Jackie Peterson,
who are here in the audience tonight, to our board
for some new and exciting energy
in how we strategize around maintaining our collections.
And this will definitely be a highlight
of our collection and our strategy.
So thank you, everyone, for for coming out this evening.
We do have maybe a few minutes. A couple of questions.
I know we've really pushed our limit here tonight,
but all well worth it.
Thank you, MOHAI, for hosting us. Yes.
But if there are any questions,
we can take a couple of questions or comments
to any of our speakers or in general.
No?
I saw everybody kind of approaching them early on,
before we got started on this program,
so maybe you got it all out, you know?
I don't know. Okay. Yes. Oh.
Georgia McDade. Yes. -Yes.
-Thank you so very much for this program.
My one regret is that
it was not at McCaw Hall
and the place wasn't packed.
I learned so much tonight,
and I'm so glad we have all of this history.
But my question is, what do we do today?
So much is happening, has happened,
have a good feeling will happen
before the next presidential election.
So what do you say today with this 250th anniversary?
-Comment? -I can.
-Yes. -Can you all hear me?
Okay. Perfect.
I think after November 2024, we all thought
that it was all going to go downhill immediately
at noon on January 20th.
But we're all still here.
And the day after the election,
I texted a family friend, you know, a Black woman,
and I asked her, you know, "How do you feel?"
And she said, "We've been through worse."
And having interned for the mayor of Seattle
and seeing how things work at a local level,
seeing all the judiciary
and having been around that with the Youth & Law Forum,
just with the legal system itself,
it's been able to keep things from falling apart,
although there's a lot of flaws in our system
that got us where we are today,
just as many protections have kept us where we are
and prevented things from breaking apart.
And in addition to that,
the courtrooms, the one place where facts
are what guide the decisions and not political rhetoric.
And so I think that what we've been doing with local nonprofits
and seeing everybody being who they are,
helping where they can,
whether it's a local food drive or whether, you know,
you're making a poster to raise attention to something.
I think that, you know,
our decentralized, our federalist system,
with state level and federal level,
but also just us as people.
You know, the Constitution, we the people, you know?
We are the governors as well as the governed.
And so I think that that's what we do.
We just continue doing what we do
and we keep exploring our options.
And there's already been so many creative avenues
that people have taken to fight against
what's been happening from the federal level.
So, yeah.
-Thank you, Kenny.
-May I chime in on that just a bit?
-Yes. Please. -Thank you so much, Kenneth.
That made my point, as well.
One of the things that I did
before I switched over to the study of law
was I was in the School of Education,
so I didn't want to end tonight's program
without celebrating all of you
who are in the field of education,
who have taught us.
Every one of us would not be here
if we didn't have some of you who encouraged us along the way.
And I know that two of our famous educators
are on the front row,
and there are many of you that are in the room.
There is a philosopher that says
that one who opens a classroom closes a prison.
And that's Victor Hugo.
This is why many of us in this room,
with the encouragement of so many of my elders,
engaged in this Youth & Law Forum program,
because we know that there is a direct connection
between what happens to a young person in the classroom
and what happens to the person
when they get to juvenile detention
and then what happens to that person
when they get out of juvenile detention.
There is a pathway from the classroom to the prison.
And those of you who are in the field of education,
those of you who are working with young people...
I see Justice Bridge is here.
Thank you.
Because you have...
...the opportunity change the direction,
the trajectory of so many people.
I commend The Minority and Justice Commission
because they have joined us in going all over the state
to talk to young people about choices and about education
so that the number of young people
whose lives will be impacted by the criminal justice system
will be markedly reduced.
So, again, if you are an educator, or if you're not,
take the time to talk to a young person.
Take the time to affirm that young person.
Remember. All the perfect people are already dead.
So give them some room to grow and make mistakes.
-Yes. Thank you.
Okay. Thank you so much.
So I think that's it. -If I can...
If I can, I would like...
If I can, I'd like to answer the question you asked.
As judicial officers, we have to be careful
that we don't venture into politics.
So as a judicial officer, I would say
pay attention to who is seated on your benches.
We are elected officials.
Many of us got here by appointment
and then had to run subsequently in an election.
So it's elections,
and you get to vote in regards to
who is seated on the bench
making the decisions that impact your lives.
In order to make a change
and to build trust and confidence
in this institution that we partake in,
the people need to see themselves reflected.
So, therefore, pay attention to who you're voting for.
And make sure that you are being heard,
at least by way of representation.
And as you heard, it doesn't mean to say
you're going to get what you want,
but one of the things I did realize
when I joined the judiciary in Pierce County...
And I came out on the bench with my hair in braids.
One lawyer who was passing my courtroom
literally backtracked, looked in...
And this was a Black female.
And later on told me, "It felt so good to see you there."
So pay attention and vote.
-The clicker!
So I just want to say...
As I said before, and as Kenny showed us,
we have the Constitution of the United States,
we have the Washington Constitution,
we have all of these laws
so that we can do the right thing.
The agenda of the judiciary should be to do the right thing.
And you all should be holding us accountable
to doing the right thing.
-Yes. -Yes.
I agree on all of that.
And anyone who knows me, too,
is that I am really fond of chalk and sidewalk chalk art
and writing messages on my sidewalk.
And most recently, as it rains,
and then I repeat and repeat "We the people,"
large, color letters,
out in front of my house.
And having people stop and look and think.
I can see them.
I watch out of my window
as people stop and look and think.
So, agreeing with everything that you said here tonight.
And, again, thank you so much for coming out,
participating, asking all the right questions.
And much appreciation for all of you. Thank you.