Legacy
The judges who came after him
When Jackson took the bench in 1942, only a handful of Black judges served anywhere in the United States. Ohio’s courts look different today because he went first.
Those who followed
Pioneers who built on his path
Judge Lauren Moore named these judges in her 2022 remarks at the statue as luminaries whose way he helped open.
- Judge Lillian W. BurkeOhio’s first Black woman judge, 1969. A fellow Republican.
- Judge Leo JacksonServed on the Eighth District Court of Appeals.
- Judge Jean Murrell CapersCleveland Municipal Court.
- Judge Theodore WilliamsCleveland Municipal Court.
- Judge Sara J. HarperFirst African American woman to graduate from Case Western Reserve University School of Law. Cleveland Municipal Court.
- Judge C. Ellen ConnallyFirst Black woman in Ohio elected to the bench without first being appointed. Later president of Cuyahoga County Council.
Honors
How his name has been kept alive
- 1952, 1966Honored at events in the Hollenden Hotel, which refused him service in 1935.
- LifetimeKnown around the city as “Mr. Cleveland” for his civic work.
- 2007Case Western Reserve University School of Law honors its alumnus. His bust stands in the law library.
- OngoingInducted into the Zanesville City Schools Hall of Fame. A scholarship in his name helps Zanesville High School graduates pay for college.
- 2016His nieces publish In the Service of Community, an Honored Elder.
- Oct 15, 2020Bronze statue unveiled in the Justice Center, downtown Cleveland.
- Feb 22, 2022The Ohio Black Judges Association holds a Black History Month program at the statue.
In her review of the family’s book
Retired Judge C. Ellen Connally wrote that every Black judge who takes the bench in Ohio carries his legacy forward.