Cheri Beasley

Study Group: The Dichotomy between Race (identity, etc.) and Power in Politics.

Cheri Beasley, a former assistant public defender, served as a judge for 22 years. She was the first African American woman to serve as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of North Carolina. As Chief Justice, she led the statewide court system through the pandemic, creating a safety protocol adopted by other state courts. She modernized the courts' 40-year-old, outdated technology. During a month of protests around the country, she was the first Chief Justice in the nation to speak out about racial injustice and disparate outcomes in courts. She has worked to make schools safer by expanding School Justice Partnerships and implemented the first paid parental leave policy for judicial employees statewide.