Jean Murrell Capers’ family moved from Kentucky to Cleveland in 1919 because her parents, both teachers, wanted their children to receive the benefits of an integrated education. She earned an education degree from Western Reserve University in 1932 and taught for several years. Wanting to do more to serve her community, she enrolled at Cleveland Law School. In addition to her private practice, Capers was appointed an assistant police prosecutor in 1946, was the first African-American woman elected to Cleveland City Council in 1949 (serving the 11th Ward over nine years), was appointed an Assistant State Attorney General in 1959, and served as special counsel to the Ohio Attorney General from 1964-1966. She was appointed to the Cleveland Municipal Court bench in 1977, then was elected and re-elected until Ohio’s 70-year-old age limit for judges required her retirement in 1985. She continued to practice law until 2011 and received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Cleveland-Marshall College of Law in 2009.