Robin Ransom, the first Black woman to serve on the Missouri Supreme Court, was appointed by Republican Gov. Mike Parson on Monday. 

“As the daughter of a fireman who worked and lived in a segregated engine house when he worked for the fire department, this is a very happy day for my mom, myself and my entire family,” Ransom said during a press conference in Jefferson City, St. Louis Public Radio reported. 

“To make it all the way here just personally, I am still flabbergasted and I am in shock,” she added. “But when you talk about history, I was raised that I can’t cure all the social ills and injustices that are out there. And this appointment won’t do that. But what this appointment does show is that this governor has the courage to make such an appointment. That he has great vision for this state and he knows how great this state is and what it can be." 

Ransom will be the third Black judge to serve on Missouri’s highest court and is the fifth woman. She will join Chief Justice George Draper as the second Black judge appointed to the court.  

"She was the best qualified candidate for the Supreme Court and that's why she was chosen for the position," Parson said.

“I have no doubt that Judge Ransom will add valuable experience, perspective and balance to the court,” Parson said in a press conference, according to The Missourian. “I am confident that she will continue to be a fair enforcer of the law, faithfully interpret the law as written and reasonably consider decisions made at the trial and appellate level.”

The former Missouri Eastern District Appeals Court judge was preferred over Judge Donald E. Burrell Jr. and Circuit Judge William M. Corrigan Jr. Her predecessor is Judge Laura Denvir Stith, who retired in March after serving on the court for over 20 years as the second woman to hold the title.  

Before being appointed by Gov. Parsons to the appeals court in 2019, the University of Missouri-Columbia Law School graduate was a judge in St. Louis. She served 10 years in the 21st Circuit Court before becoming a family court commissioner for the 22nd Circuit Court in 2002, according to St. Louis Public Radio.

Ransom also acknowledged how groundbreaking it is to be the first Black woman to hold a Supreme Court role, but said that she is more than her race.

“While I may be the first African American woman to be part of this court, I’d like to say I have never lived by a label or by identity that anyone has tried to put upon me,” Ransom said. "When I look in the mirror, I've always been Robin. And I've always lived my life to be kind to everyone and to be the best person that I can be. And I bring those same attributes to being on this court.”

State Rep. Ashley Bland Manlove (D-Kansas City) said in a statement Monday that members of the Missouri Legislative Black Caucus “are pleased to see Black women finally represented on our highest court,” Columbian Missourian reported.

“Although this is a historic day, the fact that it took two centuries to happen highlights the continued need to address inequities in all aspects of Missouri’s judicial system,” Manlove said.

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