Kyra Harris Bolden (born July 31, 1988) is an associate justice of the Michigan Supreme Court. She was a candidate for the Michigan Supreme Court in 2022, but came in third behind incumbents Richard Bernstein and

Brian Zahra Brian K. Zahra (born January 9, 1960) is a justice of the Michigan Supreme Court. He was appointed to fill a vacancy by Michigan Governor Rick Snyder in 2011. Zahra won his bid for reelection in 2022 to retain his seat for eight more years, per t ...

. On November 22, 2022, Bolden was appointed to the Michigan Supreme Court by Governor Gretchen Whitmer to replace Bridget Mary McCormack. Bolden is the first Black female to serve on the Michigan Supreme Court. Bolden served as a Democratic member of the

Michigan House of Representatives The Michigan House of Representatives is the lower house of the Michigan Legislature. There are 110 members, each of whom is elected from constituencies having approximately 77,000 to 91,000 residents, based on population figures from the 2010 ...

for the 35th district from January 1, 2019 to January 1, 2023. Before being elected to the position of state representative, Bolden was a civil litigation attorney. In her bid for re-election in 2020, Bolden faced Democratic primary challenger Shadia Martini. In the primary, Bolden defeated Martini by 20,981 votes. Bolden went on to be re-elected in the 2020 election, defeating Republican challenger Daniela Davis.

Early life and education

Kyra Harris Bolden is an attorney, serving her second term, representing her hometown of Southfield in the Michigan State House. A graduate of

Southfield Public Schools Southfield Public Schools, also known as the Southfield Public School District (SPSD), is a school district headquartered in Southfield, Michigan, United States. It serves the cities of Southfield and Lathrup Village. Dress codes Students in gr ...

, Bolden chose to remain in Michigan for her studies, receiving her bachelor's degree from

Grand Valley State University Grand Valley State University (GVSU, GV, or Grand Valley) is a public university in Allendale, Michigan. It was established in 1960 as Grand Valley State College. Its main campus is situated on approximately west of Grand Rapids. The universit ...

and

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law.

Career

While working in Lansing, Bolden advocates for Michiganders as a member of the Judiciary Committee and has focused her work on criminal justice reform, crafting and passing bipartisan legislation to protect survivors of sexual violence. Bolden has passed the “Medically Frail” prison reform package, the revision of the Wrongful Imprisonment Compensation Act, and the “Address Confidentiality for Survivors of Domestic Violence” package.

Affiliations

Bolden has received several awards, including the 2019 Detroit Association of Women's Clubs, Inc. “Young Women Lifting As We Climb Image Award”, 2019 African American Leadership Awards “Emerging Leader Award”, 2020 Michigan Chronicle 40 Under 40 honoree, 2021 Legislative Economic Development Champion Award and the 2021 Michigan Credit Union League “Legislator of the Year” award. Bolden is a member of the Oakland County Bar Association, Wolverine Bar Association, Straker Bar Association, the Women Lawyers Association of Michigan, National Congress of Black Women-Oakland County, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., and as a member of the Total Living Commission for the City of Southfield.

Personal life

Bolden lives in her hometown of Southfield with her husband, Dr. Greg Bolden, and daughter Emerson Portia Bolden.

References

External links

Kyra Harris Bolden at housedems.com

Kyra Harris Bolden at ballotpedia.org

Kyra Harris Bolden at votesmart.org
, - 1988 births Living people 21st-century African-American politicians 21st-century African-American women 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians African-American state legislators in Michigan African-American women in politics Grand Valley State University alumni Democratic Party members of the Michigan House of Representatives Michigan lawyers Place of birth missing (living people) Women state legislators in Michigan Justices of the Michigan Supreme Court {{Michigan-politician-stub