“After Governor Raimondo informed me that she would be nominating me
to serve on the Rhode Island Supreme Court, the first call I made was to my
father, retired Lieutenant Colonel Melvin J. Austin.”
alongside other Black children in Nottoway County, Virginia, prior to the U.S.
Supreme Court’s decision in Brown v. Board of Education. A combat helicopter
pilot during the Vietnam War, he used the G.I. Bill to become a dentist and
made a career in the Army. My father and I spoke about my late mother Carole,
who, at the age of 21, left her factory job and everyone she knew in her small
town in central Pennsylvania to join the Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps. She
ultimately became a registered nurse and mother to me and my three siblings,
all of whom went on to work as public servants.”
remember the hardships he and my mother endured, as well as the sacrifices they
made to ensure a life of opportunity for their children. I believe this
appreciation makes me a better jurist. Today, I stand on their shoulders.”
our state Supreme Court, and a woman of color, I have been heartened by the
support and testimony of leaders in our community such as Judges Rogeriee
Thompson, Ed Clifton, and Melissa DuBose; Senator Harold Metts; Representatives
Anastasia Williams and Joe Almeida; Jim Vincent; Matty Lopes; and countless
other Rhode Islanders. Today, I stand on their shoulders, too.”
for their votes. I am honored by the responsibility that has been placed in me.
I pledge to the people of Rhode Island always to work hard and with humility,
to strive to emulate the qualities of our most admired jurists, and to honor
the legacy of those who blazed the trail before me.”