When
he was a teenager, Paul B. Higginbotham and his twin brother made a solemn
vow to each other that they would spend the rest of their lives improving
the lives of others and bringing equality and justice to our world.
More
than 30 years after his vow, Paul Higginbotham is the first African American
to serve as a judge on the Wisconsin Court of Appeals.
Higginbotham's
journey for justice began during his childhood. His father was a civil
rights leader in Columbus, Ohio, and marched with Martin Luther King,
Jr., in Montgomery, Alabama, and at the March on Washington in 1963.
Higginbotham remembers the bomb and
death threats and the "whites
only" signs at the swimming pools, water fountains and the entrance
to one of the city's housing subdivisions.
Paul B. Higginbotham
He also remembers the segregated junior high school he attended
in Tennessee and its inadequate teaching, facilities and materials. His parents
removed him from the school and placed him in a predominately white Catholic
school, where he experienced racism and bigotry. While Higginbotham's high
school years were very turbulent, they were also a period of tremendous growth
for him.
"Make your life about service.
You didn't get here by yourself."
After attending college but leaving after only 2 1/2 years,
working in a variety of secretarial positions and running a business, Higginbotham
realized that his community needed more of his talents. He decided to return
to college and attend law school to become a civil rights attorney. He eventually
graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a bachelor's degree
and the University of Wisconsin Law School. As a civil rights attorney, Higginbotham
focused primarily on housing and employment discrimination. He served in his
first judgeship in 1992 and was appointed to his current judgeship in 2003.
He serves on the advisory board of the African-American Ethnic
Academy and 100 Black Men of Madison. For his unwavering support of his community,
Higginbotham has been honored by several organizations, including the Madison
Mutual Housing Association and NAACP.
The judge encourages the future leaders of America to "make
your life about service. You didn't get here by yourself."
