Bolden shares story of her journey from GVSU to state supreme court

When she was a Grand Valley student, Kyra Harris Bolden worked for Americorps in a position that took her to various Grand Rapids Public Schools.

Bolden, '10, told a Grand Valley audience she recalled one elementary school visit when a Black girl asked her if girls can go to college. Bolden assured the young girl that college is, indeed, for girls and, in fact, she herself was a college student.

"'See, I told you,'" the girl said to her friend.

Bolden, who has sat on the Michigan Supreme Court since January and is the first Black woman to hold that seat, said that moment of time during her Grand Valley years has stuck with her.

"So, two Black girls who looked like me questioned if they could go to college," Bolden said. "It was when I realized how important representation is."

Bolden delivered a keynote address March 16 in the Kirkhof Center to help celebrate the 20th anniversary of EqualiTEA, a signature event for the Center for Women and Gender Equity.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer appointed Bolden to the state supreme court in November, following Bolden's unsuccessful campaign for that seat. Or was it unsuccessful?

"I didn't win. I lost by 2 percentage points. At the same time, I captured 1.3 million votes, so that was encouraging," she said.

She had served two terms in the Michigan House, representing the 35th District. Bolden said she had plans to continue in that capacity until receiving a call from former U.S. Rep. Brenda Lawrence, who asked if she ever thought of running for state supreme court. After more and more people had similar questions, Bolden said yes. 

Bolden was pregnant at the time, which she said factored greatly into both her hesitation and her decision.

"I ran because I never wanted my daughter to look at me and ask why I did not take the opportunity because of her," she said.

She earned a bachelor's degree in psychology and later a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law. It was Kathleen Blumreich, professor of English, who put the thought of law school into Bolden's head.

"I was having a crisis and professor Blumreich said to me, 'You have such a strong sense of justice, you should go to law school,'" Bolden said.

And there was another reason. Bolden was at Grand Valley when her great-grandmother shared the story that her great-grandfather died as a result of a 1939 lynching in Tennessee when he asked a store owner for a receipt. 

"The murderers walked free," she said. "I thought, 'What can I do?' That's when I decided to go to law school. I wanted to make sure my family saw what justice can look like, it can be like how other people see justice."

President Philomena V. Mantella introduced Bolden and called her a leader every Laker can look toward and feel great pride.

"What you have accomplished in the 13 years since you have left Grand Valley is incredible," Mantella said. "You are a lifelong learner, you made lifelong connections on campus and throughout Michigan and you are committed to public service — plus being a new mother and being present for your family. 

"It's a great honor for the Laker Nation to call you their own."