Full Answer
In the case that would become most famous, a plaintiff named Oliver Brown filed a class-action suit against the Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, in 1951, after his daughter, Linda Brown, was denied entrance to Topeka’s all-white elementary schools.
In 1844, Macon Bolling Allen passed the bar exam, making him the first African American licensed to practice law in the U.S. Allen then went on to become the first African American to hold a judicial position as Massachusetts Justice of the Peace in 1848.
When Brown’s case and four other cases related to school segregation first came before the Supreme Court in 1952, the Court combined them into a single case under the name Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka . Thurgood Marshall, the head of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, served as chief attorney for the plaintiffs.
With a legal angle in mind, the ABA Journal chose to recognize 14 groundbreaking black lawyers. These attorneys were pioneers in their fields, using their law degrees to make history in courtrooms, legislatures and even newsrooms.
Charles Hamilton Houston played an invaluable role in dismantling segregation and mentoring the crop of civil rights lawyers who would ultimately litigate and win Brown v Board of Education. At Howard Law School, he served as Thurgood Marshall's mentor and his eventual employer at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.
Thurgood MarshallBrown v. Board of Education was argued on December 9, 1952. The attorney for the plaintiffs was Thurgood Marshall, who later became the first African American to serve on the Supreme Court (1967–91).
Marshall argued in court for desegregation in local cases such as Murray v. Maryland and Sweat v. Painter, but all of these cases were granted victories because separate conditions were successfully argued to be unequal in these individual instances, rather than separation being unequal in principle.
lawyer Thurgood MarshallOn June 13, 1967, President Lyndon B. Johnson nominated distinguished civil rights lawyer Thurgood Marshall to be the first African American justice to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States.
Clarence Thomas (born June 23, 1948) is an American lawyer and jurist who serves as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. He was nominated by President George H. W....Clarence ThomasIncumbentAssumed office October 23, 1991Nominated byGeorge H. W. BushPreceded byThurgood Marshall27 more rows
When Linda was denied admission into a white elementary school, Linda's father, Oliver Brown, challenged Kansas's school segregation laws in the Supreme Court. The NAACP and Thurgood Marshall took up their case, along with similar ones in South Carolina, Virginia, and Delaware, as Brown v. Board of Education.
Known for his earlier work in helping end legal segregation through the 1954 landmark case Brown v. Board of Education, he once described his judicial approach by simply saying, "You do what you think is right and let the law catch up."
Clarence ThomasMarshall retired during the administration of President George H. W. Bush in 1991, and was succeeded by Clarence Thomas.
Clarence ThomasClarence Thomas, (born June 23, 1948, Pinpoint, near Savannah, Georgia, U.S.), associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1991, the second African American to serve on the court.
William KunstlerBornWilliam Moses KunstlerJuly 7, 1919 New York City, New York, U.S.DiedSeptember 4, 1995 (aged 76) New York City, New York, U.S.EducationYale University (BA) Columbia University (LLB)OccupationLawyer, civil rights activist3 more rows
Thurgood Marshall's Family Marshall was born to Norma A. Marshall and William Canfield on July 2, 1908. His parents were mulatottes, which are people classified as being at least half white.
Thurgood Marshall was a civil rights lawyer who used the courts to fight Jim Crow and dismantle segregation in the U.S. Marshall was a towering figure who became the nation's first Black United States Supreme Court Justice. He is best known for arguing the historic 1954 Brown v.
Supreme Court case, Brown v. Board of Education, was bundled with four related cases and a decision was rendered on May 17, 1954. Three lawyers, Thurgood Marshall (center), chief counsel for the NAACP’s Legal Defense Fund and lead attorney on the Briggs case, with George E. C. Hayes (left) and James M. Nabrit (right), attorneys for the Bolling case, are shown standing on the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court congratulating each other after the Court’s decision declaring segregation unconstitutional.
Attorneys for Brown v. Board of Education, May 17, 1954
The first North American Black woman to publish a newspaper, USA-born Mary Ann Shadd was the founder of the Canadian newspaper, The Provincial Freeman. Concurrently serving as its anonymous editor and contributor, she also became one of the first women to pursue journalism in Canada. She was also one of the first Black women to earn a degree in law.
Civil rights leader and Baptist minister Benjamin Hooks was also a jurist and had served the NAACP as its executive director. He had studied law at the Chicago-based DePaul University College of Law since no law school in Tennessee, his home state, allowed Blacks back then.
Died: January 23, 1976 . Singer and actor, Paul Robeson, was as much known for his music and films as he was for his political activism. As a black man who had to endure great difficulties to establish himself, he was actively involved in the Civil Rights Movement and other social justice campaigns.
Christopher Darden is a man who dons many hats. He is a lawyer, author, actor, and lecturer with 15 years of experience in the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office. He was a co-prosecutor in the O. J. Simpson murder case.
The United Democratic Movement member and former mayor of Nelson Mandela Bay was also a father of five. He died of COVID-19 after putting up a brave fight with the disease for 3 weeks.
Died: March 29, 2005. Johnnie Cochran was an American civil activist and lawyer. Cochran played an important role in the acquittal of former football player O. J. Simpson in connection with the murder of the latter's ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson. Cochran had also represented other celebrities like Michael Jackson, Sean Combs, Tupac Shakur, ...
Charles Hamilton Houston spent his career fighting against Jim Crow throughout the South and successfully challenged segregation at the University of Maryland Law School. He was also the first Black editor of the Harvard Law Review and fought in multiple cases before the Supreme Court. He mentored Thurgood Marshall, who carried on his fight.
In 1967, President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed Thurgood Marshall as the first African American Supreme Court Justice. Prior to his judicial service, he successfully argued Brown v. Board of Education with United States District Court Judge Constance Baker Motley, the first African American female federal judge in the U.S.
As a young Black lawyer, Gray provided legal counsel during the Montgomery Bus Boycotts, defending Rosa Parks. He also worked closely with the NAACP and defended civil rights cases such as Gomillion v. Lightfoot and Dixon v. Alabama.
In 1844, Macon Bolling Allen passed the bar exam, making him the first African American licensed to practice law in the U.S. Allen then went on to become the first African American to hold a judicial position as Massachusetts Justice of the Peace in 1848.
Charlotte Ray graduated from the Howard University School of Law on February 27, 1872, and was admitted to the District of Columbia Bar on March 2, 1872, making her the first black female attorney in the United States. She was also admitted as the first black female to practice in the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia on April 23, 1872.
On July 22, 1939, Mayor of New York City, Fiorello La Guardia, appointed Bolin as a judge of the Domestic Relations Court, making Bolin the first black woman to serve as a judge in the United States. Bolin proceeded to be the only black female judge in the country for twenty years. Bolin remained a judge of the court for 40 years ...
Motley was elected to the New York State Senate in 1964, making her the first African-American woman to sit in the State Senate.
After graduating from Columbia, Motley became the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund’s (LDF) first female attorney. Motley went on to become Associate Counsel to the LDF, making her a lead attorney in many significant civil rights cases.
In 2014, President Barack Obama nominated Lynch for the position of U.S. Attorney General, succeeding Eric Holder, making her the first African-American woman and second African-American (after Holder) to hold this office.
In 1976, Jordan became the first black woman to deliver a keynote address at the Democratic National Convention. Jordan was later awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Bill Clinton in 1994. Historic Firsts: First African-American woman elected to the Texas Senate.
Baker was inspired to attend law school after hearing a speech by Yale Law School graduate George Crawford, a civil rights attorney for the New Haven Branch of the NAACP.
The first Black lawyer on the Supreme Court of the United States was Thurgood Marshall. Marshall was a groundbreaker in the legal field in many ways. He is responsible for arguing several civil rights cases including Murray v. Pearson and Chambers v. Florida. Marshall’s bible was used by Kamala Harris at her swearing into office as Vice President of the United States.
Macon Bolling Allen is largely regarded to be the first Black man to become a lawyer, argue before a jury and hold a judicial position in the United States. Allen passed the bar exam in Main in 1844 and become a Massachusetts Justice of the Peace in 1847. After the American Civil War, he moved to South Carolina to practice law and was elected to be a judge in 1873.
On January 20, 2021, Kamala Harris became the first woman, first African American and first Asian American to serve as Vice President of the United States. She is the highest-ranking female official in the history of the United States. Prior to becoming Vice President, she was the only Black woman in the United States Senate.
Trailblazer, Jane Bolin was the first Black woman to graduate from Yale Law School and the first Black woman to be a judge in the United States. Bolin was known for her studious nature and overcame racism at Wellesley College where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1928. She then went on to Yale Law School where she was met with similar racist hostility. Still, Bolin persevered and on July 22, 1939, she was sworn in as a judge in New York. She served on the Family Court bench for four decades where she advocated for children and families. During her time as a judge, she also helped change segregationist policies entrenched in the judicial system. For example, she helped end skin-color based assignments for probation officers.
His legal arguments attacked segregation in schools and racial housing covenants. In addition, Hamilton was the Dean of Howard University Law School and the NAACP’s first special counsel, or Litigation Director. Houston is said to have mentored a generation of Black attorneys including, Thurgood Marshall.
Johnnie Cochran was a famous lawyer who represented his famous clients with the kind of flair we expect from lawyers today. While Cochran gained notoriety during the O.J. Simpson trial in 1996, he was also known for his work as a civil rights activist. Cochran was inspired to become a lawyer by Thurgood Marshall and his Brown V. Board of Education victory. Cochran began making a name for himself as a lawyer in the 1960s and 1970s as he began litigating a high number of high-profile police brutality cases. He founded The Cochran Firm in 1983 which boasts 33 offices in 15 states.