Judge Perry B. Jackson

The statue

Cast in bronze, standing in the Justice Center

How a family, a bar foundation and a mountain climb put Judge Jackson in the lobby of Cleveland’s courthouse.

The life-size bronze stands in the atrium of the Justice Center in downtown Cleveland. It was sculpted by Judge Jackson’s niece, Shirley McWhorter Moss, who set out to show him as fair, wise and impartial, a judge who cared about the spirit of the law and not only its letter, rather than a stern figure of authority.

A committee of judges, community members and family raised the money through the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Foundation. In 2019 his niece Dr. Anita P. Jackson climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, asking supporters to pledge for every foot she climbed toward the 19,341-foot summit.

  1. 2018Clay model nears completion and goes to the foundry.
  2. Mar 2019Kili Trek Climb raises funds for the memorial and the Judge Perry B. Jackson Scholarship.
  3. Aug 2019Cuyahoga County accepts the statue as a donation for the Justice Center.
  4. Oct 15, 2020Unveiled during the pandemic in a virtual ceremony hosted by the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association.
  5. Feb 22, 2022The Ohio Black Judges Association gathers at the statue for Black History Month.
Watch the unveiling ceremony Judge Ronald Adrine’s 2022 remarks
The statue in clay before casting
Almost ready for the foundry, 2018
Initial bronzing of the statue
Initial bronzing, 2019

Visit

Justice Center atrium

1200 Ontario Street, Cleveland, Ohio

The statue stands in the public lobby. Check court hours before you go.

The sculptor

Shirley McWhorter Moss

The statue was sculpted by Judge Jackson’s niece. She wanted visitors to the Justice Center to see a judge who was fair, wise and impartial and who valued the spirit of the law over its letter. She chose that over a stern figure of authority.

Earlier, a bust of Judge Jackson was placed in the Judge Ben C. Green Law Library at Case Western Reserve University School of Law, his alma mater.

The climb

19,341 feet for the memorial

In March 2019 Dr. Anita P. Jackson, his niece and a leader of the memorial committee, climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. She asked supporters to pledge ten cents or more for every foot she climbed, toward the memorial and the Judge Perry B. Jackson Scholarship Fund.

She chose the mountain to stand for the obstacles her uncle faced and his refusal to be stopped by them. Reaching the summit at ten cents a foot meant $1,934.10 from each pledge.