Pioneering black jurist to retire after three decades of service

January 7, 2009 02:33 PM Email| Comments (3)| Text size – +

By Jonathan Saltzman, Globe Staff

Joyce London Alexander, the longest-serving magistrate judge in the history of the US District Court in Massachusetts and one of only two blacks on the district court bench, will retire Feb. 1.

(Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies)

"I plan to spend more time with my husband. I'm a newlywed," Alexander, who wed Johnny Ford, the former mayor of Tuskegee, Ala., in December 2006, said today. The couple intend to live in Alabama and Massachusetts.

Alexander, who declined to give her age, was appointed in 1979, becoming the country's first African-American woman magistrate judge. From 1996 to 1999, she served as chief magistrate judge for the district, becoming the first African-American woman to lead any court unit in Massachusetts.

"My colleagues and I are grateful for Magistrate Judge Alexander's nearly 30 years of devoted service to the administration of justice," US District Court Chief Judge Mark L. Wolf said in a statement. "I know that the bar and her many admirers in the community join us in wishing Magistrate Judge Alexander great happiness in her well-earned retirement.''

Alexander is particularly well-known for a program she created for the federal courts in Massachusetts in 1989 called "Kids, Courts & Citizenship." Each year, the program brings about 700 fifth-grade students from Boston public schools to her courtroom to view proceedings and discuss the legal system. Children also learn about alternatives to violence, guns, and drugs.

Before her appointment to the bench with support from President Jimmy Carter, Alexander was assistant vice chancellor and general counsel for the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education. She also served as on-camera legal editor for WBZ-TV in Boston.

A native of Cambridge, Alexander earned her undergraduate degree from Howard University and her law degree from New England School of Law. She helped found the Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts and chaired the Judicial Council of the National Bar Association, the oldest organization of black judges in the country. She currently chairs the board of the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies in Washington.

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3 comments so far...

She was born in 1949 according to her bios. She graduated from Law School in 72 and was sworn in after passing the bar in1973.

Posted by buttsy January 8, 09 04:37 AM

Judge Alexander is a devoted member of the Links, Inc. -- a national black woman's civic organization. She has been a strong supporter of the Boston Chapter's civic projects, of which she is a member, and the organization has relished in parternering with her on the "Kids, Courts, and Citizenship" endeavor.
Congratulations Joyce on a most illustrious career and wishing you a great retirement!!

Posted by Robbie Tourse, friend and President of Boston Chapter of Links January 10, 09 11:29 AM

Dear Joyce,
I am so happy for you and I wish you a blessed and healthy retirement! You have been an inspiration to me and I give God the glory for your many talents.
May you continue to live a life filled with love and much happiness!

Posted by Gwen Day-Fuller January 11, 09 01:00 PM