Feature Articles
Judge Cordell is featured in publications, including the San Francisco Chronicle, the Philadelphia Inquirer and People Magazine.
Murals and banners honor South Bay queer women
BAY AREA REPORTER, June 22, 2022 – “I looked up and said, ‘Oh my God!’” Cordell, a 72-year-old Black lesbian, said upon seeing the mural for the first time recently. “There's significance to everything in the mural.”
Tribute Artist: Elba Raquel Martinez
15 of the most influential Black leaders in Silicon Valley
SAN JOSE SPOTLIGHT, February 5, 2023
“The number of African Americans who reside in Santa Clara County and throughout Silicon Valley continues to drop… My concern is that the contributions of this area’s Black residents will fade from the public memory,” Cordell told San José Spotlight. “Even though our population is small, racial profiling of African Americans continues unabated.”
She was the first Black woman judge in Northern California — and she has a message about the future of her profession
SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE, August 21, 2022
“We have these great principles. Everyone is created equal, entitled to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Everybody has a right to a speedy trial, to a jury trial in a criminal case and civil, the right to due process, the right against self-incrimination, the right to cross-examine,” Cordell said. “The problem is in the implementation of these principles.”
Simon Liu was 16 years old when Judge Cordell sentenced him to prison for two decades, and for two decades he hated her. What happened when they reconnected? Listen and be amazed!
GREATER GOOD MAGAZINE | Episode 120: How to Feel Less Lonely and More Connected, July 21, 2022
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The Science of Happiness Podcast is co-produced by PRX and UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center.
White Picket Fence
THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, April 26, 2022
In 1940, all the Black families in the apartment building where the Jenkinses lived were kicked out, according to LaDoris Cordell, Jenkins’ granddaughter, a retired judge who lives in California. The family referred to it as “the Great Eviction.”
Her honor, the artist – Superior Court judge LaDoris Cordell opens her first exhibit
PALO ALTO ONLINE, January 5, 1996
"Chiaroscuro: An Exhibition of Works on Paper" opened with a reception; all proceeds from purchased works will be donated to the Support Network for Battered Women's crisis services for African-American women and their children.