SALT LAKE COUNTY, Utah — In 1999, the first Black woman to become a judge in Utah was appointed in Salt Lake County. 24 years later, Judge Shauna Graves-Robertson is still the only black female judge in the state.
From a young age, Robertson dreamed of being a judge; she became an active member of her youth NAACP branch and worked with the Salt Lake League of Defenders. At the time, there was no one on any bench in Utah who looked like her.
“I knew that the law was the place that I wanted to be," she said. "If there is a glass ceiling for women who are white, then there is a concrete ceiling for women who are of color.”
Judge Robertson was appointed to Salt Lake County's court in 1999, when all four judges were women. Now, she sits on the bench alone.
“I had mentors, if you will, or people to look up to in that sense," said Robertson. "Of course, the loneliness came when I was appointed and I was the only. When you are the ‘only’ of something, you know, it can be very, very lonely.”
Although Judge Robertson holds court in person now, she still works from home half of her days. Keeping the virtual option makes showing up for court accessible for everyone, she said.
“Although I enjoy the ability to be at home, I like it better when I'm with the people, when you can actually feel and see and, you know, almost reach out and touch the people," said Robertson.
This Women’s History Month, she wants women to understand their worth, no matter their path in life.
“You have to have us in order to have a world, said Robertson. "This is a recognition that we are many things, that it is all right if you are a woman that is a domestic engineer in the home, that it is all right if you are a woman that is a judge or that is a physician or that is an engineer, that all of those things have a place.”
She hopes young girls in Utah won’t be afraid to be the "first” or the “only.”
“Don't let anyone make you hide your light," said Robertson. "Don't let anyone steal your joy. You are uniquely and wonderfully made. You cannot be afraid to try and fail because if you don't try, you automatically fail.”
