Continuing our representation of important African-American leaders, blogger Elizabeth shares the most influential and inspirational African-American Lawyers.
By Elizabeth Shay
In honor of Black History Month, and combining my interest in law, here is a list of five revolutionary Black lawyers that have played an important role in history and deserve to be recognized.
Macon Bolling Allen (1816-1894)
In the 1840s, Macon Bolling Allen left his job as a teacher in Indiana and became an apprentice to prominent attorney and abolitionist, General Samuel Fessenden (LawWorks). Many believe Allen was the first African American to be licensed to practice law in the United States, at a time when Black Americans were not even considered citizens. And, Macon was licensed to practice in two states–Maine and Massachusetts. Allen was also the first African-American Justice of the Peace. He was a partner in the first known African-American owned firm, established in South Carolina in 1868.
Notable fact: It is reported that Allen walked 50 miles to take the bar exam in Massachusetts because he couldn’t afford transportation (MesserliKramer).
Charlotte E. Ray (1850-1911)
Charlotte E. Ray became the first Black woman to earn a law degree in 1872. She graduated from Howard University, specializing in corporate law. Ray was also the first female admitted to the District of Columbia Bar and became the first female to practice before the Supreme Court in D.C. This allowed women in other states to seek admission to their state bars. Charlotte Ray also opened her own law office before becoming active in the women’s suffrage movement. She was praised for her eloquence and comprehensive legal expertise (LawWorks).
Notable fact: In order to disguise her identity as an African-American woman, it is alleged that Ray applied to the bar under the name C.E. Ray (MesserliKramer).
Jane Bolin (1908-2007)
Jane Bolin’s father was a successful lawyer in New York. After graduating from Wellesley College, she was accepted into Yale University despite discouragement from an advisor. Bolin became the first African-American woman to graduate from Yale Law School. In 1931, she passed the bar in New York City and began practicing in 1932 (LawWorks). A woman of many firsts, she was appointed as the first African-American female judge and the first to work in New York City’s legal department, in the office of the corporation counsel. She was a judge in Family Court and took on domestic issues, helping neglected and orphaned children, and changing segregationist policies that assigned probation officers based on skin color and the placement of children in child-care agencies based on ethnic background.
Notable fact: Jane Bolin chose not to wear judicial robes in order to help the children she worked with feel more comfortable (MesserliKramer).
Charles Hamilton Houston (1895-1950)
Charles Hamilton Houston started out as an English professor and eventually became known as “the man who killed Jim Crow.” While Houston was serving in the U.S. Infantry as a First Lieutenant during World War I, he experienced blatant bigotry so he enrolled at Harvard Law. He became the first Black-American editor of the Harvard Law Review, earned his Juris Doctor degree in 1923, and joined the Washington D.C. bar in 1924. Houston went on to become Dean of Howard University School of Law, helping make the institution the leading training center for civil rights activists pursuing law. Charles also served as the first special counsel for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), and was involved in almost every Supreme Court case about civil rights between 1930 and 1950.
Notable fact: Houston wrote the strategy for ending segregation in public schools by proving that it would be more expensive to create “separate but equal” schools than it was to allow integration (LawWorks).
Thurgood Marshall (1908-1993)
)
Top student and protegé of Charles Hamilton Houston, Thurgood Marshall graduated from Howard University after being rejected from the University of Maryland Law School on the basis of his race. After graduating and passing the bar, Marshall successfully sued the University of Maryland on behalf of another Black student who was denied admission there. Marshall was the first African American to be nominated to the Supreme Court. He was the Court’s first African American justice, serving from 1967 to 1991. He also served as the 32nd Solicitor General and judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit. Thurgood Marshall established a legal practice in Baltimore and founded the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund. He led the landmark case, Brown v. Board of Education, that outlawed racial segregation in schools (LawWorks).
Notable fact: Marshall represented and won more Supreme Court cases than anyone else in history.
These lawyers have each made history in their own way. As we move forward to the future, reflecting on the struggles and achievements from those in the past allows us to make progress. As Thurgood Marshall said, “Where you see wrong or inequality or injustice, speak out, because this is your country” (judgeawcenter.umd.ed).
Sources Referenced:
https://lawworks.com/en/blog/read/1260974717/black-lawyers-who-changed-the-world
Black History Month Editor: Evan Spry
