[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 188 (Thursday, November 16, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7294-S7295]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                REMEMBERING ANNA KATHERINE DIGGS TAYLOR

 Mr. President, today I wish to recognize and honor the life 
and legacy of the Honorable Anna Katherine Diggs Taylor of Detroit, MI, 
for her trailblazing career as the first African-American female judge 
appointed to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of 
Michigan.
  Judge Taylor was born Anna Katherine Johnston on December 9, 1932, to 
parents Virginius Douglass Johnston and Hazel Bramlette Johnston in 
Washington, DC. Her father Virginius served as treasurer for the 
prestigious Historically Black College, Howard University, while her 
mother Hazel was a business teacher and homemaker.
  In a quest to equip their daughter with the best education and set 
the foundation for her legal career, Virginius and Hazel Johnston 
enrolled Judge Taylor in the Northfield School for Girls, one of very 
few schools accepting African-American students. She graduated from 
Northfield in 1950. After graduation, she went on to attend Columbia 
University's Barnard College for her bachelor's degree and received her 
law degree from Yale in 1957.
  Judge Taylor's historic career began after her graduation when she 
became a staff lawyer in the Solicitor's office of the U.S. Department 
of Labor. After her post at the Department of Labor, she moved to 
Michigan and became the Assistant Prosecutor for Wayne County in 1961.
  The Jim Crow era of the South was a harrowing time for America, and 
Judge Taylor courageously fought for civil rights during the 1960s. 
During the historic Freedom Summer campaign in 1964, she represented 
civil rights workers in Mississippi that were arrested for assisting 
African Americans in exercising their fundamental right to vote. Upon 
her arrival in Mississippi, three civil rights workers--James Chaney, 
Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner--went missing. While inquiring on 
their disappearance at the Neshoba County courthouse, she was met with 
disdain and racial epithets from a crowd gathering around the 
courthouse.
  Following the terror she witnessed in Mississippi, where she feared 
for her own life, Judge Taylor returned to Michigan and continued to 
fight for equality with an intense determination. In 1966, she served 
as an assistant attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan. After a 
brief period in the private sector, Judge Taylor joined State Senator 
Coleman A. Young's campaign for mayor of Detroit. Once elected mayor of 
Detroit, Coleman Young enlisted her help to improve racial inequality 
in the city.
  After working on President Jimmy Carter's campaign, President Carter 
nominated Judge Taylor for the U.S. District Court in Detroit in 1979. 
Her appointment made her the first African-American woman to serve as 
judge in the United States Sixth Circuit Court. She went on to make 
groundbreaking rulings and became chief judge, serving from 1997 to 
1998. After a 32-year career on the bench, Judge Diggs Taylor retired 
in 2011.

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  The Honorable Anna Katherine Diggs Taylor made a tremendous impact on 
America's judicial landscape. She was a formidable force on the bench, 
as well as gracious in character. Judge Taylor has received many 
recognitions throughout her impressive six-decade career and will be 
remembered as a champion for civil rights. Judge Taylor is survived by 
her husband, S. Martin Taylor, son Douglass Johnston Diggs, and 
daughter Carla Diggs Smith, four grandchildren, brother Lowell Douglass 
Johnston, as well as many relatives, friends, and colleagues. It is my 
hope that her legacy will inspire the next generation of leaders to 
follow their passion and to conquer each obstacle in front of 
them.

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