When Angela Brown was fired from her job as an assistant at a San Diego bank and was told by someone in the company that it was because of her skin color, she decided she would go into law to make sure she and others who looked like her would not be disenfranchised.
It was the first time she experienced prejudice in her professional life after graduating from Brown University. And though she was often told by her parents while growing up in Philadelphia that discrimination happens, the experience took her by surprise.
“That for me was like, you know, nobody should ever be in a position where they don’t know the law, because I felt like if I knew the law then I would have known what to do,” Brown said. “So after that, I was like, ‘Yeah, I’m definitely going to be a lawyer because that’s not going to happen to anybody else.’”
Since then, Brown has held the title of first African American woman in several of her offices. She eventually became the first African American to sit on the Cobb County Superior Court.
Though it wasn’t her first stab at law, Brown was the first African American in-house attorney for the mining company ASARCO, Inc., where she was responsible for the environmental legal management from Mississippi to the West coast. She moved to Cobb in 2001 and became the county’s first African American female assistant district attorney.
“The funny thing is, I didn’t realize I was the first until someone presented me with a plaque for being the first African American woman,” Brown said with a laugh.
She eventually got to sit on the State Court bench, learning from Judge Toby Prodgers.
“That was my first foray into being on the bench and watching someone of that caliber,” Brown explained. “And I thought, ‘Yeah, that’s what I want to do one day.’ So that’s kind of where it took off.”
When Brown ran for the Superior Court position, racist threats were not uncommon, she said. The experience was reminiscent of when she ran for State Court. Brown said she even had to explain to her children what to expect as they followed her through the campaign trail.
Women’s History Month is a time when she can show gratitude toward those who paved the way for her and others to succeed.
She said a seat on the bench has been the opportunity to truly have an impact on cases and ensure that everyone receives justice in a fair and equal manner. More importantly, she said a judge is distinguished by the ability to directly impact the lives of victims and defendants.
Since being elected to the Cobb Superior Court bench with her longtime friend Kellie Hill in 2020, Brown has made it a goal to be known as a community judge. She not only wants law students to have the chance to meet her and other judges so they are familiar with the position, but she also wants citizens to have insight into the justice system.
Most of all, Brown hopes her achievements inspire others to fight against racial and gender obstacles.
“There are going to be people who judge you as less because of the color of your skin and because of the sex that you are,” she said. “I always felt that if you excel and be the best that you can be, that will eventually overcome everything.”
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