Jessie Pharr Slaton (1908–1983) was an American lawyer. She was inducted into the

Michigan Women's Hall of Fame The Michigan Women's Hall of Fame (MWHOF) honors distinguished women, both historical and contemporary, who have been associated with the U.S. state of Michigan. The hall of fame was founded in 1983 by Gladys Beckwith and is sponsored by the Michi ...

in 1984 shortly after her death on

Korean Air Lines Flight 007 Korean Air Lines Flight 007 (KE007/KAL007)In aviation, two types of Airline codes, airline designators are used. The flight number KAL 007, with the ICAO code for Korean Air Lines, was used by air traffic control. In ticketing, however, IAT ...

Biography

She was born in 1908, in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

. In 1918, Slaton moved with her family to

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

. In the same city, she would receive her first job in 1933, at the Detroit City Hall, working as a secretary. This position made her one of the first African-Americans in the government of Detroit to hold a

white-collar job A white-collar worker is a person who performs professional service, desk, managerial, or administrative work. White-collar work may be performed in an office or similar setting. White-collar workers include job paths related to government, consu ...

. She left the position at the onset of World War II and promptly enrolled in

Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public university, public research university in Detroit, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 375 programs. It is Michigan's third-l ...

. After graduation, she worked as a

special education Special education (also known as special-needs education, aided education, alternative provision, exceptional student education, special ed., SDC, and SPED) is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates their individual di ...

teacher in the Detroit Public Schools schools system. Slaton not only became heavily involved in helping black men and women, but, in 1942 over a dispute involving the Sojourner Truth Housing Project, she took up law. After nine years, she graduated at the

University of Detroit Law School The University of Detroit Mercy School of Law is the law school of the University of Detroit Mercy and is located in Downtown Detroit, Michigan across from the Renaissance Center. Founded in 1912, Detroit Mercy Law is a private Roman Catholic l ...

and worked for Detroit as a lawyer. In 1972 she was appointed the first woman to be a referee in the Recorder's Court Traffic and Ordinance Division. Six years later, she became a Common Pleas Judge in the City of Detroit, and eventually retired. After a short retirement, she chaired the State Crime Victims Compensation Board, and would work in similar capacities until her final years. On September 1, 1983, Slaton and six of her friends were travelling to

Seoul, South Korea Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

, onboard

, for a two-week tour of the

Far East The Far East is the geographical region that encompasses the easternmost portion of the Asian continent, including North Asia, North, East Asia, East and Southeast Asia. South Asia is sometimes also included in the definition of the term. In mod ...

. The aircraft was shot down by the

Soviet Air Force The Soviet Air Forces (, VVS SSSR; literally "Military Air Forces of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics"; initialism VVS, sometimes referred to as the "Red Air Force") were one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Sovie ...

after it deviated from its original planned route and flew through Soviet prohibited airspace, killing all 246 passengers and 23 crew. Slaton's remains were never recovered and a cenotaph honoring her is placed next to the grave of her husband George Henri, who predeceased her in 1975, at Elmwood Cemetery in Detroit.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Slaton, Jessie 1908 births 1983 deaths Lawyers from Atlanta Korean Air Lines Flight 007 University of Detroit Mercy alumni Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1983 20th-century American women lawyers 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century African-American women Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in the Soviet Union Wayne State University alumni 20th-century African-American lawyers Victims of aircraft shootdowns