We FINALLY have completion of the Betty Roberts portrait project !!
The portrait was mounted a couple of months ago, on the second floor of the Supreme Court Building in Salem (1163 Court St NE, Salem, OR 97301). It is a good visible, appropriate space. And as of last month, the arrangement is completed with an etched metal plate with her bio summary. (See below for the text.) We felt it was important for the portrait to be labeled with some information about who she was and why her portrait deserves to be there.
Next time you are in Salem, take a couple of minutes to go see it in person. And tell her how glad you are to see her there.
(photo by Kirsten Shende)
(photo by Geoff Pullen)
Text on the biographical summary mounted below the portrait
Betty Roberts had an unusual and unexpected path to becoming a judge. Until age 33, she was a stay-at-home mother of 4 children. Then, because of a concern for how she would support herself and her children if something should happen to her husband, she started taking night college classes to become a teacher. She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees, and taught high school for several years.
Seeing the politics of educational issues, she ran for the Oregon Legislature and was elected in 1965.
Because of her interest in teaching political science at the college level, she applied to a PhD program at the University of Oregon, but was denied admission because she was “too old” (39). So she went to law school instead.
By 1969, she was practicing law, teaching at Mt. Hood Community College, and the only woman serving in the Oregon State Senate. She had a strong positive reputation as a Legislator, successfully sponsoring the Oregon Bottle Bill, many women’s rights and gender equity bills, and legislation for the expansion of availability of education resources and opportunities. She ran for Governor, narrowly losing in the primary.
In 1977, Governor Bob Straub appointed her first woman on the Oregon Court of Appeals. And in 1982, Governor Vic Atiyeh appointed her first woman on the Oregon Supreme Court. As a judge she wrote decisions for many key cases; one such was for Hewitt v. SAIF, in which she stated the Oregon Constitution contains an “equal rights” clause for all citizens, prohibiting benefit to any group not equally available to all others.
She always remained a teacher at heart, mentoring young attorneys, legislators, and others working for gender equality and expanded education opportunities. She made sure the door stayed open for many women to follow with judicial service – as she said, “There’s not much point in being the first, if there aren’t many more following you.” For more information about her life and those times in the history of Oregon, read her book With Grit and By Grace – Breaking Trails in Politics and Law.