Obviously the election of Barack Obama was a milestone in this country’s racial history. But the story of Audrey B. Collins, the granddaughter of a slave, is also a milestone worth noting.
By Scott Glover
Los Angeles Times
LOS ANGELES — Not long after Audrey B. Collins was named chief judge of the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, she found herself pondering what she might say at an upcoming luncheon, the sort of affair she’d routinely be expected to attend in her new capacity as the public face of the court.
But as Collins considered her remarks, she realized there was nothing routine about this gathering. She’d been asked to speak to a group of female Afghan attorneys and judges visiting the United States, women who risked their lives every day by practicing law in defiance of the Taliban.
The standard fare for lunchtime speeches, such as court statistics, judicial vacancies and cost-of-living increases for federal judges, wasn’t going to cut it with this crowd, Collins concluded.
So she decided to tell her own story, one that makes her, in at least one respect, a highly unusual member of the federal judiciary: Collins, 63, is the granddaughter of a slave.
