First African American Federal Judge in New England Visits NWC

Northwest Catholic High School in West Hartford culminated its month-long celebration of Black History Month with a compelling presentation on Brown v. Board of Education by United States District Judge Vanessa L. Bryant.

The Honorable Vanessa L. Bryant for the District of Connecticut was the first African American woman appointed a federal judge in New England. After a successful law career in several Connecticut firms, Bryant was appointed United States District Judge in April 2007 by President George W. Bush.

On February 24, 2020, Judge Bryant visited Northwest Catholic and addressed the entire student body and faculty. Her lecture included a sweeping look at the events leading to Brown v. Board of Ed. and illustrated how the personal and political intersect on many fronts. She began with brief synopses of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments, pausing to explain where progress was made and progress was stalled. She then went on to explain the 1896 decision of Plessy v. Ferguson, which declared “separate but equal” and described how the decision fueled Jim Crow laws and reinforced segregation and inequality.

Judge Bryant continued to weave a story of watershed Supreme Court cases that included the 1950 Sweatt v. Painter when separate was decided unequal for an African American law school student who was relegated to study alone in a single classroom. Judge Bryant then walked the audience through the Brown decision made four years later in 1954, the same year she was born.

Careful to point out that each court decision challenging segregation never put an end to institutional racism nor quelled a racist resistance, Judge Bryant still pressed on the point that courts have the power of moralsuasion, or coaxing citizens to honor its will. She spoke of precedent, using the metaphor of a brick wall with decisions building block-by-block for real change, and she tied together the strings of law, history, and lived experience.

Judge Bryant spoke of Elizabeth Eckford of the Little Rock Nine, who bravely desegregated Little Rock High School in 1957 and Charlayne Hunter-Gault, who integrated the University of Georgia in 1961. She referenced the attempt at desegregating Boston Public Schools from 1974 through 1988, telling stories of her own experiences in the city during this turbulent time.

“The Brown decision shattered life as we knew it,” said Judge Bryant before she took a turn in her remarks to talk about her own wrestling with bias, sharing a personal story from her youth when she questioned whether a white woman and black man should be a couple. The audience of teenagers chuckled with Judge Bryant as she painted a picture of herself as a 15 year old smitten with the handsome man. Judge Bryant’s confession did not only make her relatable: it gave her a launching pad for a deeper discussion of what she called the “affinity paradigm,” our natural proclivity to associate with people like ourselves.

Judge Bryant challenged the paradigm, encouraging her audience to eschew “right fit,” “comfort zone” language. She encouraged her young audience to question their assumptions about Hartford, study the segregation of Connecticut schools, and challenge their own biases. Ultimately, Judge Bryant reminded the students, “You are not alone.” She said all kinds of people have implicit biases and encouraged the students to examine their own.

The Honorable Vanessa L. Bryant gave her audience a lot to consider on that February morning, and the Northwest Catholic community thanks Judge Bryant for her insightful and inspiring words.

Northwest Catholic High School in West Hartford is a diverse, Catholic, co-ed, college preparatory community, educating the whole person — mind, body, spirit, and imagination since 1961. Learn more at northwestcatholic.org.