Andree Layton Roaf | |
|---|---|
| Associate Justice of theArkansas Supreme Court | |
| In office 1995–1996 | |
| Appointed by | Jim Guy Tucker |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Andree Yvonne Layton (1941-03-31)March 31, 1941 |
| Died | July 1, 2009(2009-07-01) (aged 68) |
| Spouse | Clifton Roaf |
| Children | 4, includingWillie Roaf |
| Residence | Pine Bluff, Arkansas |
| Alma mater | Michigan State University University of Arkansas at Little Rock School of Law |
Andree Yvonne Layton Roaf (March 31, 1941 – July 1, 2009) was anArkansas lawyer andjurist. She was the first African-American woman to serve on theArkansas Supreme Court, and is the mother of formerNFLoffensive linemanWillie Roaf.[1][2]
Andree Layton was born inNashville, Tennessee. Her father, William W. Layton, was acivil rights official with theUrban League, Michigan Civil Rights Commission,U.S. Department of Agriculture andFederal Reserve Board, as well as a historian and lecturer.[3][4][5] She grew up inColumbus, Ohio,White Hall, Michigan, andMuskegon, Michigan, where she graduated fromMuskegon Heights High School in 1958.[6] She attendedMichigan State University and received a degree inzoology in 1962.[1]
For more than a decade, Roaf pursued a career in the sciences, working as abacteriologist for theMichigan Department of Health and then for theUnited States Food and Drug Administration inWashington, D.C. In 1969 she moved toPine Bluff, Arkansas, where she worked for the Pine Bluff Urban Renewal Agency and then as a biologist for theNational Center for Toxicological Research in Jefferson (Jefferson County), Arkansas.[1]
In 1975 Roaf decided to change careers, and she entered theWilliam H. Bowen School of Law at theUniversity of Arkansas at Little Rock. She graduated second in her class in 1978. After a year as an instructor at the law school, she went into private practice at a Little Rock law firm that became known as Walker, Roaf, Campbell, Ivory and Dunklin.[2] In 1995 GovernorJim Guy Tucker appointed her to fill a seat on theArkansas Supreme Court that had become vacant due to the retirement of Justice Steele Hays. She was the second woman, and the first African-American woman, to sit on the court. Prohibited by law from running for re-election, she was appointed by GovernorMike Huckabee to a position on theArkansas Court of Appeals, where she served until 2006.[1]
In May 2007 Roaf became director of the federal Office of Desegregation Monitoring, supervising the compliance of the public schools inPulaski County, Arkansas with racialdesegregation mandates. She held this position until July 1, 2009, when she collapsed in her Little Rock office and later died at theUniversity of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Medical Center.[2]
Roaf married Clifton George Roaf in 1963. He became a dentist in Pine Bluff and was a member of local and state school boards.[1][2] They had four children, including formerAmerican football playerWillie Roaf, anoffensive tackle for theNew Orleans Saints andKansas City Chiefs of theNFL who went to 11Pro Bowls[7] and was elected to thePro Football Hall of Fame in 2012,[8] andPhoebe Alison Roaf, anEpiscopal priest who is theBishop of West Tennessee.[2] Roaf was an active member of the Grace Episcopal Church in Pine Bluff.[9]
Andree Layton Roaf was inducted into the Arkansas Black Hall of Fame in 1996.[6] She received an honorary doctor of laws degree[1] and a Distinguished Alumni Award from Michigan State University.[10]