Sheila Abdus-Salaam, who made history as the first black woman to ever be appointed to serve on New York’s state’s highest court, and first female muslim judge body was found floating in the Manhattan side of the Hudson River.
The judge body was found, after police responded to a 911 call of a body seen floating in the river around 1:45pm.
They found an unconscious and unresponsive woman, who was later pronounced dead and identified as Abdus-Salaam.
Sheila Abdus-Salaam, age 65,was reported missing by her husband, on April 11, whop later identified her body.
“Justice Sheila Abdus-Salaam was a trailblazing jurist whose life in public service was in pursuit of a more fair and more just New York for all. She was a pioneer. Through her writings, her wisdom, and her unshakable moral compass, she was a force for good whose legacy will be felt for years to come. I was proud to appoint her to the state’s highest court and am deeply saddened by her passing,” said Governo Cuomo.
Mayor of New York, Bill De Blasio has expressed his condolence on twitter. “Deeply saddened by the tragic passing of Sheila Abdus-Salaam. She was a humble pioneer. My thoughts are with her family.”
The judge body, being found in a river, comes a s a shock to many who knew her well to be a fair and balance person.
Sheila Abdus-Salaam was born on March 14, 1952, in Washington D.C., where she grew up with six siblings in a working class family. She studied in public schools there and while researching her family history as a child, she learned that her great-grandfather had been a slave in Virginia.
“All the way from Arrington, Va., where my family was the property of someone else, to my sitting on the highest court of the State of New York is amazing and huge. It tells you and me what it is to know who we are and what we can do.” Abdus-Salaam attended Barnard College, before studying law at Columbia Law School.