Bernice Bouie Donald
United States District Court for the
Western District of Tennessee
Memphis, Tennessee
Born: DeSoto County, Mississippi-September 17, 1951
Education: University of Memphis (B.A. 1974; J.D. 1979)
Judge
Donald was appointed to the United States District Court for the
Western District of Tennessee by President Clinton on December 22,
1995. With that appointment, Judge Donald became the first
African-American female United States District Court Judge in Tennessee.
Bernice Bouie
Donald is the sixth of ten children raised on a sharecropper's farm in
DeSoto County, Mississippi. Her mother and father, Willie and Perry
Bouie, were the primary influences in her life. Judge Donald's minister
and certain teachers were also quite influential. Although Donald had
intended to pursue a career in social work, she was later motivated to
pursue law because she saw law as a primary tool for social change and
equal justice. In this regard, Judge Donald has said:
Early in my
career, my family was the biggest source of inspiration for me. My
family and my church. And then the times in which I grew up. There was
a lot of change going on in the world and our environment. Just being a
product of that environment, when people-I think everybody-was just
sort of stretching, as a family as a community, as a nation.
In the course of
pursuing a legal career, Judge Donald achieved many "firsts." She was
the first elected African-American female judge in the State of
Tennessee. She was also the first African-American female U.S.
Bankruptcy Judge appointed in the United States. With her appointment
in 1996, Judge Donald also became the first African-American female
judge appointed to the United States District Court in Tennessee. Judge
Donald's later decision to become a judge grew out of her work as a
public defender with Shelby County. She states that:
I felt that many
judges did not ensure equal justice for poor people. I felt that
according dignity and respect to all litigants regardless of race,
class, socio-economic status, or gender were critical to the
preservation of our justice system, and that I could play an important
role in fostering that environment.
In her spare
time, Judge Donald enjoys being active in numerous organizations and is
the recipient of over 100 awards for her professional, civic and
community activities. In addition, she enjoys teaching, having held
positions as an Adjunct Professor at both the University of Memphis
Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law and the Shelby State Community
College.
Because of her
many accomplishments, Judge Donald has been featured in Ebony, Essence,
Jet, Black Enterprise, Dollars & Sense, and Memphis Magazine. Her
advice to would-be lawyers and judges is "make an honest commitment to
yourself that you are willing to work hard and make the necessary
sacrifices to attain your goal."
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