Meet Michigan’s Youngest And First Black Woman Supreme Court Justice

Kyra Harris Bolden made history when she was sworn in as an associate justice of the Michigan Supreme Court on January 1, 2023, becoming the youngest and first Black woman to sit on the state’s high court at 34 years old.

“My family has gone from lynching to law school and from injustice to Capital J, Justice,” Bolden told ESSENCE. When trying to decide her post-college plans, she made the decision to attend law school after an illuminating conversation with the family matriarch.

“At the end of college, my great-grandmother told me the story of my great-grandfather. My great-grandfather, Jesse Lee Bond, was lynched in Tennessee in 1939 after asking the store owner for a receipt. He was beaten and castrated and thrown into the local river. The coroner deemed it an accidental drowning, and as a result, his murderers walked free. That injustice drove me to pursue a legal career. I wanted other families to see justice, in a way that my family had not seen justice,” explained Bolden.

After graduating from University of Detroit’s Mercy School of Law in 2014, Bolden started out her legal career working as a civil litigator in Lansing, a staff attorney for the 3rd Circuit Court of Wayne County, and in Southfield as a court-appointed criminal defense attorney. Then in 2018, Bolden successfully ran for a Michigan House seat, and was subsequently re-elected in 2020 for a second term.

Bolden is no stranger to accruing accolades, as she had “the highest number of bills passed by any freshman representative in 2019.” She once again made history just four years later when Governor Gretchen Whitmer appointed her to the Michigan Supreme Court, stating “Kyra is committed to fighting for justice for generations, and I know she will serve Michigan admirably, building a brighter future for her newborn daughter and all our kids.” This was eighty-four years after Bolden’s great-grandfather was lynched.

“I’m so honored and it still feels surreal to be the first Black woman on the highest court because now there are so many boys and girls that have something new to aspire to because they can now see themselves in the position of power,” said Bolden. “It’s one of those moments that help you see and know what is possible. I know the weight of this job and what it means and It’s always been my goal to lift as I climb. I may be the first but not the last.”

Bolden explained how she has long realized the importance of representation, relaying “I worked in an after-school program in college and one day a little girl, that looked like me, came up to me and said ‘Miss Kyra, Miss Kyra, can girls go to college?’ And I looked at her and said ‘Yes. I’m a girl and I’m in college.’ And the little girl turns to the girl next to her and says ‘see I told you.’ It’s hard to be what you cannot see. At that moment, I understood the true meaning and impact of representation.”

In an era where states like South Carolina are moving backwards and losing Black members of the court, Bolden has decided to run for re-election to keep her seat on the Michigan Supreme Court. “Because I know the institution was not meant for me, I’m very intentional about identifying the systemic barriers that exist that lead to me being the first Black woman on the court in 2023. This is necessary to ensure we have more diversity on the bench.

“As the first Black woman to ever serve on the Michigan Supreme Court and as the great-granddaughter of a lynching victim, justice is personal,” said Bolden. “The decisions made by the Supreme Courts at both the national and state level have generational impacts. Across all state high courts, just 17 percent of Justices are Black, Latino, Asian or Native American which is why it’s important for Michigan—and state supreme courts across the country reflect the diverse perspectives and experiences of all. I am fighting to ensure we have justice for today and justice for generations.”