Judge Glenda Hatchett delivered a passionate keynote address at Norfolk State University’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day observance. Hatchett, who has broken some racial barriers of her own, said she came to challenge and encourage.
“Martin Luther King was a gift to us,” Hatchett said. “We often think of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as the dreamer. I’m here to tell you today that we are beneficiaries of the dream. The dream has to live on in each of us.”
She went on to ask, “Where are you going to be standing when the new day comes?”
Hatchett became the highest-ranking woman of color worldwide during her 10-year tenure with Delta Air Lines, and later she became the first African-American Chief Presiding Judge of a state court when she was appointed chief presiding judge of the Fulton County (Atlanta, Georgia) Juvenile Court. In addition, she was twice nominated for an Emmy for the television court series Judge Hatchett.
Currently, Hatchett sits on the National Football League's Atlanta Falcons' Board of Advisors, a position she has held since 2004, and serves as a consultant to the National Basketball Association on pressing legal and social issues. She is the founder of The Hatchett Firm P.C., a national firm that specializes in wrongful death, catastrophic injury and fatal police misconduct cases.
Hatchett told the audience to think about the greater good and to use their gifts to uplift others. “It’s not just about me. It’s not just about you,” she said. “What are you willing to do that will live on and on beyond your lifetime?”
“Where are you going to be standing when the new day comes?”