Menlo News January 22, 2019

Speaker Inspires Students at MLK Assembly

The Honorable Judge LaDoris Cordell was featured speaker for the For the 2019 Martin Luther King Jr all-school assembly. (Continue reading for video.)
Honorable Judge LaDoris Cordell speaks at the MLK assebmly

LaDoris Hazzard Cordell, a 1974 graduate of Stanford Law School, was the first lawyer to open a law practice in East Palo Alto. In 1978, she was appointed Assistant Dean for Student Affairs at Stanford Law School, where she implemented a successful minority admissions program. In 1982, Governor Jerry Brown appointed Ms. Cordell to the Municipal Court of Santa Clara County. In 1988, Judge Cordell won election to the Superior Court of Santa Clara County, making her the first African American woman to sit on the Superior Court in northern California. After 19 years on the bench, she retired and began employment at Stanford University as Vice Provost & Special Counselor to the President for Campus Relations. After eight years, she retired from that position in 2009. Judge Cordell also previously won a four-year term on the Palo Alto City Council, worked as an on-camera legal analyst for CBS-5 television and a guest commentator on Court TV, and served as the Independent Police Auditor for the City of San Jose. A mother, grandmother (of five), Judge Cordell is also a pianist, vocalist, portrait artist, cartoonist, and is writing a memoir about her 20 years on the bench.

At the all-school assembly on January 22, she inspired students to be “upstanders” by taking action against injustice. She provided several examples of those who have taken steps to speak out for others and shared how that can sometimes be challenging. The assembly also included students reading quotes from Martin Luther King Jr’s lesser-known speeches, and performance of “Lift Every Voice and Sing” sung by the 7th and 8th grade chorus.

You can watch the assembly video here: