The first Ethiopian-American Judge

2009

 

Judge Nina Ashenafi Richardson received the oath ofoffice from Chief Justice of the Florida Supreme CourtPeggy A. Quince, (January 30, 2009.)

Nina Ashenafi Richardson, an Ethiopian-American judge, who was elected to the Leon County bench in Florida on November 4th, 2008, is hard at work in the Sunshine State’s capital county. She recently told the Tallahassee Democrat that although her workload is heavy, she is mindful of the responsibilities and privileges of her new position. Concerning her workload, she said  “At the county court level it’s a lot of volume, and you have to make sure you keep up with it,” she said of the plethora of criminal and civil cases that she now presides over. “I love it. Every time I come into the courthouse I continue to feel so privileged and honored to be here.”

Born in Ethiopia, Nina came to the U.S. as a young girl and was raised by her late father Professor Ashenafi Kebede, the renowned Ethiopian composer and musicologist, who was the Founder and first Director of the National Saint Yared School of Music in Ethiopia. In the United States, he taught Ethnomusicology and served as the Director of the Center for African-American Culture at Florida State University, where his daughter later earned her law degree. He was also the Director of the Ethiopian Research Council, comprised of Ethiopian and American academics and professionals, which was founded by African American scholar Leo Hansberry.

 

Judge Nina, a mother of two, who is married to former State Legislator Curtis Richardson, was also the  first African-American woman to head the Tallahassee Bar Association and the first African-American to lead the Tallahassee Women Lawyers (TWL). Mela congratulates Judge Nina Ashenafi on her accomplishments ((Tadias))