Romonda Belcher-Ford
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The Honourable Romonda Belcher-Ford | |
|---|---|
| District Associate Judge of the Fifth Judicial District of Iowa | |
| In office August 20, 2010 – 2024 | |
| Nominated by | District 5C nomination commission |
| Appointed by | Kim Reynolds |
| Preceded by | Joe E. Smith |
| Succeeded by | Jordan Brackey |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1968 (age 57–58) Plymouth, North Carolina |
| Alma mater | Howard University (BA) Drake University Law School (JD) |
| Occupation | Former district associate judge |
| Profession | Assistant County Attorney (1995–2010) Assistant Polk County Judge (2010-2024) |
| First Black woman to serve as a judge in the state of Iowa. | |
Romonda Belcher-Ford (Born in 1968) became the first Black woman to serve as a judge in the State of Iowa upon her confirmation on August, 2010. She is a former Assistant County Attorney and retired District Associate Judge in Iowa's Fifth Judicial District, serving Polk County. She served 15 years as an attorney dealing with juvenile delinquency and dependency cases, and served the court as an Associate Judge between August 2010 and early 2024.
Romonda Belcher-Ford was the second-born in 1968 to a middle-class family in Plymouth, North Caroline, a small town of less than 4,000 at the time [1]. Her mother worked at a department store as a salesperson[2] while raising two other kids. Her father attained his GED and worked for wages at an asbestos-filled pulp-mill before starting his own enterprise installing satellite TV systems[2]. She recounts that both worked hard to instill the importance of an education and religious faith in her childhood[3]. Her mother also assured she was involved in the community, participating in the local National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), and having her enroll in organ lessons, theatre, and marching band[1]. In high school, she took several advanced placement classes where she gained the skills to excel in her undergraduate education[3]. She also learned quickly that her racial identity would become a barrier to attaining social and professional success when she was only one of few Black students to be in advanced classes, or to even attend the birthday parties of white students. One teacher in particular encouraged her to attend Howard University for her undergrad as it was a prominent HBCU that would reinforce her intersectional identity and propel her career[1].
In fall of 1986, she began the pursuit of a Bachelor's degree in Administration of Justice with a minor in Broadcast journalism at Howard University. Howard, a school which predominantly enrolls African Americans, was a culture shock to her as she was away from family and for the first time in an environment with like-minded Black scholars. She had always admired the works of classical Civil Rights activists such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks, but she was quickly exposed to and inspired by the works of other Black activists such as James Baldwin, Frederick Douglas, Charles Drew, Mary Mcleod Bethune, and Garret Morgan[3]. After graduating from Howard in 1990, receiving an honors distinction bachelors degree, she worked for two years before enrolling at Drake Law School in pursuit of a Juris Doctorate.
Romonda Belcher-Ford learned of Iowa's rich African American history at Drake University, where she was also inspired by Gertrude Rush, the first Black woman to be licensed to practice law in the state of Iowa. Additionally she built a close mentorship with Willie Stevenson Glanton, the first Black woman to be elected to the Iowa State legislature. Throughout her time in Law School, She quickly gained practical experience at Parrish & Kruideiner, the Drake Legal Clinic, the Iowa Department of transportation, and clerking for Justice Louis Lovorato. While she was always driven to serve on the bench, it was her experience in these various legal fields that inspired her to pursue public service as she felt it was the environment where she could make the biggest difference. She was recognized by the Drake Law School dean David Walker for her mental acuity, grace, and principality [2]. After graduating and receiving her Juris Doctorate in May 1995, she stayed in Des Moines and began to work as an attorney only five months later in September. At a church celebration after her graduation, she met Stevenson Glanton who was the first African American woman admitted in the Iowa bar to practice law[4]. She accredits much of her drive for excellence after her graduation to Glanton, who she considered a second mother and called Ms. G[4].