April 14, 1976 William Henry Hastie, lawyer, judge, educator and civil rights advocate, died. Hastie was born November 17, 1904 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Hastie earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Amherst College in 1925, graduating first in his class and magna cum laude. He then earned his law degree and a doctorate in Judicial […]
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February 11th in African American History – Jonathon Jasper Wright
February 11, 1840 Jonathon Jasper Wright, lawyer and judge on the South Carolina Supreme Court, was born in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania. After studying the law for three years and feeling himself qualified for the legal profession, Wright applied for admission to the Bar but was refused an examination because of his race. In 1865, he […]
September 14th in African American History – Constance Baker Motley
September 14, 1921 Constance Baker Motley, civil rights activist, lawyer and judge, was born in New Haven, Connecticut. Motley earned a B. A. degree from New York University in 1943 and her law degree from Columbia Law School in 1946. She began her career as a law clerk at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, eventually […]