Melissa Long is the first person of color to serve on the RI Supreme Court Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in major league baseball in 1947 -- it only has taken another 73 years to break the color barrier on the Rhode Island Supreme Court. Now, Superior Court Judge Melissa Long who has served on the court since 2017, will make her way to the Supreme Court -- the last judge named. Long earned her bachelor's degree from the University of Virginia. She later received her J.D. from George Mason University. Long was deputy secretary of state for the Rhode Island Secretary of State at t...