In honor of Black History Month, throughout February, we will recognize a few of our outstanding black alumni for their exemplary accomplishments.
After graduating from Cleveland College in 1948, Sara J. Harper went on to become the first African-American woman to graduate from Case Western Reserve University’s School of Law when she earned her degree in 1952.
Harper became a prosecutor in the 1960s. In 1990, she and another woman became the first to win seats on the Ohio Court of Appeals. Then, in 1992, she sat on the Ohio Supreme Court as the first African-American woman to do so.
Harper also was the first woman to serve on the judiciary of U.S. Marine Corps Reserve and she co-founded the country’s first victim’s rights program. She also was the Cleveland NAACP president in the early 1980s.
For her career achievements, Harper has been widely recognized, receiving such accolades as the Ohio Supreme Court’s Excellent Judicial Service Award and the NAACP’s Unsung Heroine Award.
She has been inducted into the Ohio Civil Rights Hall of Fame, the Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame and the National Bar Association’s Hall of Fame.
Most recently, Harper was an honored by Case Western Reserve University through the Trailblazer Project.