Judge, attorney and television star Glenda Hatchett and former U.S. Secretary of Labor Alexis Herman visited Sarasota’s Church of the Redeemer last week to speak about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., remembering him as an advocate for change and a man of action. The talk—"Then and Now: The Life and Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr."—was organized by Dr. Willie Clemons. Clemons is an Alabama native, an author and the former executive director of external affairs and development at Atlanta's Morehouse College who now lives in Sarasota.

“We spend a lot of time watching what’s happening, wondering what’s happening and talking about what’s happening," Herman said during her speech. "In reality, we need to make sure King’s dream is happening. Do your homework and investigate what has to be done right here in Sarasota.”

Both Herman and Hatchett are pioneers. Herman served as the 23rd secretary of labor under President Bill Clinton and was the first African American to hold the position. Hatchett, meanwhile, founded her own law firm and later became the first African American chief presiding judge of a state court in Georgia. She also spent nearly 10 years at Delta Air Lines, where she became the airline's highest-ranking woman of color worldwide and, as a senior attorney, represented Delta in labor, personnel and antitrust litigation, as well as commercial acquisitions. For eight seasons, she was also the star of Judge Hatchett, a popular courtroom reality TV series.

After the event, we caught up with Hatchett to learn more about her life and career. Our interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Can you tell me about your experience with Dr. King and his family?

"I knew his children when I was really young. I didn’t realize what a figure he was. He was just Martin and Yolanda’s daddy. [Editor's note: King had four children: Martin Luther King III, Dexter King, Yolanda King and Bernice King.] I took music classes across the street from where they lived. It was really later in life when I truly understood and appreciated his life.

"There was a piano recital that Yolanda and I were playing in, and [Dr. King] missed the recital. He came in as we were all leaving. I was leaving with my parents and he said to Yolanda, ‘Will you please play for me?’ I was putting on my coat, leaving with my mom and dad, and he said to me, ‘Will you play for me, too?’ Here’s this man who had so much going on in his own life, but he was still interested in us and what we were doing as children."

How did your roots help you grow into who you are today?

"I was raised by incredible parents and I was particularly close to my dad. He said I could be anything in the world and I believed him. I never saw myself as a disadvantaged little colored girl. My father instilled in me that I could be anything. I really believed that, and that’s how I functioned."

Did you always know you wanted to be a judge?

"Absolutely not. Absolutely not. I didn’t even think I wanted to be a lawyer. I went to law school to broaden my options because I didn’t know what I was going to do with my undergraduate degree in political science and history. My ideal job was to run a global foundation and give billions of dollars of other folks’ money to things I believed in, but then I got bit by the litigation bug. I clerked in federal court then went to Delta Air Lines and was a litigator there.  I was not going to be a judge. Then a woman died and they came and said, ‘Glenda, we want you to apply for the vacancy.’ I was thinking, ‘No,’ but my dad said, ‘Did you pray about it?’

"I was making more money in my stock options than I would have been making as a judge. My ego was involved. I had never lost a case. I thought I would retire from Delta. But God had other plans for me. I ended up applying the last day the application was due and was appointed. It was where I was supposed to be, because that was where my passion and my purpose intersected."

You’ve attained a lot of success. That’s difficult to do as a Black woman, simply because of racism and obstacles you have to face in the workplace. How do you currently navigate that and how did you navigate it in the past? What’s your advice?

"Well, first, you cannot see yourself as a victim. I tell people that all the time. It’s not going to be fair. It’s just the reality. [I had] never lost a case and no one else in the department could say that. I worked really, really, really hard because I also knew everyone was watching, and I wanted to be able to open those doors so that others would be able to follow.

"Sometimes it’s lonely, because you’re out there by yourself and others don’t want you to succeed. But you just have to be very clear and grounded in who you are. I had to pray a lot because I was getting beat up. I was being lied about, there was a lot of sabotage, and it was horrible at every juncture. I also knew I was blessed and God had given me a lot, so I took my gifts and used them."

Talk about the importance of holding elected officials accountable.

"We can’t have people who are just in [politics] for the title and for the perceived power if they aren’t doing what’s good for the whole. And if they aren’t, they don’t need to be in there. I feel strongly about that. I don’t think we do enough to hold elected officials accountable. I don’t think we watch closely enough. I don’t think we know who is really running. We have to pay close attention and we have got to vote."

It’s Black History Month. What should people take away from this month? How should people use this month to better their communities and the world?

"The more that we understand our history, the more we will understand our future. The better we are in knowing our history, the better chance we have to make a bigger impact. Knowledge is power."

Being from Atlanta and speaking to people in Sarasota, where it’s predominately white, why do you believe that conversation is important?

"It’s important because Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s purpose was not only to save Black folk. His purpose was to raise the consciousness of all people and for them to understand the responsibilities of the human race. That’s when he talked about the 'beloved community.' That’s why I get so frustrated that we just celebrate Black history for one month, and some people see it as just for Black people. Black history is not just for Black people. It is for all of us, because it is such an important piece of what this nation is and what this world is. We need to be clear about that.

"I saw that [in Florida] parents will be allowed to say they don’t want their children to learn Black history. That is absolutely insane and tragic."

You are an advocate for children and families. How can the community—with Dr. King’s legacy in mind—help young people?

"We’ve got to strengthen families again. We’ve got to do what we can to support families. We’ve got to have legislation that is really going to provide top-notch education, housing and health care. So many children have come through my courtroom who didn’t get what they needed and who are victims of poverty. You cannot expect a child to be in class and learning if they did not sleep the night before, have been homeless, did not get enough to eat or have experienced violence. So until we look at this holistically and there are serious solutions, there will not be a beloved community. It’s not enough for just me to be OK. We have to all be OK."