Jean Murrell Capers

Jean Murrell Capers (January 11, 1913^[1] – July 18, 2017) was an American judge, educator, and politician.

Biography

Born in Georgetown, Kentucky, Capers moved with her family to Cleveland, Ohio in 1919. She went to the Cleveland public schools, graduating from Old Central High School at age 16. As a young woman, she was athletic and received awards in tennis and basketball, even though she was never more than 5'3". A city tennis court is named in her honor. Capers graduated from Western Reserve University, now known as Case Western Reserve University, in 1932 as a teacher. She taught until 1937. She eloped with Clifford E. Capers in 1943. They were married for 53 years until his death in 1996. She received her law degree from Cleveland–Marshall College of Law in 1945 and was admitted to the Ohio bar that same year. Capers was an assistant police prosecutor from 1946-49. Capers ran twice for a seat on the Cleveland City Council before she was finally elected in 1949, becoming the first Negro [her preferred term] woman to serve there. She was re-elected five times, serving a total of 10 years. In 1977 she was appointed a Cleveland municipal court judge. She served until the election after her 70th birthday, when Ohio law prevented her from running again. She then returned to private law practice for several years before retiring. In 1998 she ran for Congress as an independent, but she was not too upset when she lost to her good friend, the late Stephanie Tubbs Jones. Capers died on July 18, 2017 in Cleveland, aged 104.^[2][3]

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