June 5, 1950 The United States Supreme Court in the case of Henderson v. United States abolished segregation in railroad dining cars. In the case of McLaurin v. Oklahoma State Regents ruled that a public institution of higher learning could not provide different treatment to a student solely because of his/her race.
Tag Archives | Supreme Court
May 31st in African American History – Jewel Stradford Lafontant-Mankarious
May 31, 1997 Jewel Stradford Lafontant-Mankarious, the first female deputy solicitor general of the United States, died. Lafontant-Mankarious was born April 28, 1922 in Chicago, Illinois. She earned her bachelor’s degree in political science from Oberlin College in 1943 and in 1946 she became the first African American woman to graduate from the University of […]
April 19th in African American History – Joseph B. Williams, Sr.
April 19, 1992 Joseph B. Williams, Sr., the first African American graduate of the United States Merchant Marine Academy, died. Williams was born in Annapolis, Maryland and graduated from Hampton Institute in 1942. In 1942, he graduated from the academy and served in the U. S. Navy during World War II and the Korean War.
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 25th in African American History – The Little Rock Nine
September 25, 1957 The Little Rock Nine successfully entered Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. On May 17, 1954, the United States Supreme Court issued its decision in Brown v. Board of Education declaring all laws establishing segregated schools to be unconstitutional, and calling for the desegregation of all schools throughout the nation. By […]
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 […]