First African-American judge of Monroe Circuit Court
Viola Virginia Jones Taliaferro displayed signs of extraordinary potential from an early age. She graduated from high school at 14 and then from Virginia State University at 19. It was only after Viola married former IU and NFL football legend George Taliaferro and started a family that she enrolled at IU’s Maurer School of Law in 1975. The Taliaferros made Bloomington their home, and Viola started a practice focused on juvenile and criminal law. In 1995, she was appointed judge of Monroe Circuit Court VII; she ran unopposed in the 1998 general election to retain her seat on the bench. Taliaferro retired in 2004 with a reputation of fighting for children’s rights. She served as an adviser to former U. S. Attorney General Janet Reno and also served on the National Research Council on Juvenile Crime. For her impact at the local and national level, Taliaferro was awarded the Indiana State Bar Association's Women in the Law Award in 1993, Bloomington’s Woman of the Year Award in 2000, and the IU Distinguished Alumni Award in 2007, among other accomplishments and awards.