Louise Cobb Phillips knew better than to approach the lectern to speak about her father Friday at the New Hampshire Supreme Court.

One of two surviving daughters of the late Ivorey Cobb, Phillips knew she’d never keep it together long enough to honor the first Black judge in Granite State history, serving on the bench in two capacities until his retirement in 1981. He died in 1992, at the age of 81.

“I know I’ll cry if I go up and speak,” Louise said, minutes before a photograph served as the official dedication to pay tribute to one of the Granite State’s great Black leaders.

Crying was certainly on the menu Friday, before the food that came after the event. Sixteen family members, plus lawmakers and friends gathered where the state’s Supreme Court Justices sit and interpret the law.

One by one, we learned about the man’s integrity and pioneering spirit, before the framed and matted photograph of him was hung on a wall in a wing of the Supreme Court building.

His empathy for juveniles pushed him to hand out second chances, not jail. Sometimes, Cobb would sentence a juvenile offender to community service, or attend Sunday church services in town.

The child then had to write a 100-word essay, to be signed by the minister.

“Innovative,” was how Louise described her father.

He’s now neighbors forever with a painted portrait of Justice Clinton Stanley, who served on the state’s highest court from 1876 to 1884.

Cobb opened a law practice in his hometown of Colebrook in 1962. Three years later, he was elected president of the Coos County Bar Association and, that same year, was nominated by Gov. John W. King and approved by the New Hampshire Executive Council as an associate justice of the Colebrook Municipal Court.

Then in November of 1968, Cobb was confirmed as justice of the Colebrook District Court, making him the first and only Black judge in the state of New Hampshire.

He inspired black people to strive high, as he did as a war hero and later as a judge.

“A great day,” said Marilyn McDonald Hendricks, Cobb’s granddaughter. This was to honor a great man. Classy, noble, a renaissance man.”

Marilyn and Louise and all other family members came to Concord from across the country. Georgia, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Illinois, New York, New Jersey.

They were proud that Cobb had broken barriers and torn down obstacles. He served that role fighting the Nazis during World War II, leading an all-Black platoon that transported weaponry to the front lines, often under enemy fire. And the Germans were just one of the enemies he had to be concerned with.

“He’d send letters home explaining the kind of discrimination he had to fight,” Louise said.

The idea grew from Cobb’s friendship with the Hicks family in Colebrook. Senior Associate Justice Gary E. Hicks, who served as master of ceremonies on Friday, met with Chief Justice Gordon MacDonald, who also spoke at the event, about honoring the state’s first Black judge.

“This celebrates history and progress,” said James McKim, president of the NAACP Manchester. “This is not merely displaying a photo. This is shining a light on the man’s legacy.”

Near the end of the ceremony, Louise and her sister, Gretel Cobb Webster, pulled a black canvas off the photo, positioned on an easel.

“Oh, beautiful,” Louis said, before sniffling and wiping a tear away.

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