People, Locations, Episodes

Lee Roy Young, Law Enforcement Officer born

*Lee Roy Young was born on this date in 1947. He was a Black law enforcement officer, Texas Ranger.   Lee Roy Young was born in Del Rio, TX. After graduating high school, he served four years in the United States Navy from 1966 to 1970. After being discharged from the Navy, he earned an […]

Brown v. Baskin is Ruled

*On this date in 1948, Brown v. Baskin was ruled.  This was one of the legal building blocks against voter suppression against Black citizens in the United States.  One month after the South Carolina General Assembly repealed all statutes related to party primaries in the state to maintain its white primary, Black leaders formed the […]

Lani Guinier, Lawyer, and Educator born

Lani Guinier was born on this date in 1950.

Eric Holder, Lawyer, and Administrator born

*Eric Holder was born on this date in 1951. He is an African American lawyer and administrator.

Eric Himpton Holder, Jr. was born in The Bronx, New York, to parents who emigrated from Barbados. He grew up in Queens and was educated at Stuyvesant High School in Manhattan and attended Columbia University, where he earned a B.A. in 1973 and a J.D. in 1976.

Chance v. Lambeth is Decided

*Chance v. Lambeth was decided on this date in 1951. This suit was brought to the United States Court of Appeals Fourth Circuit by William C. Chance.   He was a 64-year-old Black school teacher trying to recover damages from the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Company. This was because he was wrongfully ejected because of his […]

Peter Bynoe, Lawyer and Businessman born.

*Peter Bynoe was born on March 20, 1951. He is a Black attorney and businessman. Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Peter Charles Bernard Bynoe’s father, Victor C. Bynoe, emigrated from Barbados at age 13 and became a successful attorney; he represented Boston Celtics player Bill Russell. He also had an Uncle, John Bynoe, who was active […]

Sheila Abdus-Salaam, Attorney born

*Sheila Abdus-Salaam was born on this date in 1952. She was a Black, lawyer and associate judge on the New York Court of Appeals.
Born Sheila Turner in Washington, D.C., she grew up in a working-class family with six siblings; her great-grandfather was a slave in Virginia. She attended the public schools, was a 1974 graduate of Barnard College and a 1977 graduate of Columbia Law School. She and future United States Attorney General Eric Holder were classmates at Columbia.

Gebhart v. Belton is Ruled

*On this date in 1952, Gebhart v. Belton was ruled.  This case was decided by the Delaware Court of Chancery and affirmed by the Delaware Supreme Court in the same year. Argued by Louis Redding, Gebhart was one of the five cases combined into Brown v. Board of Education, the 1954 United States Supreme Court, […]

Charles Ogletree, Lawyer and Author born.

*Charles Ogletree was born on this date in 1952. He was a Black legal scholar and author of books on legal topics. Charles James Ogletree Jr. was born in Merced, California, to parents who were farm workers. He earned his B.A. (1974, and MA (1975) in political science from Stanford University and his J.D. from […]

Mike Espy, Lawyer, and Administrator born

*Michael Espy was born on this date in 1953.  He is a Black lawyer and politician.    Alphonso Michael Espy was born in Yazoo City, Mississippi.  He is the grandson of Thomas J. Huddleston Sr., founder of the Afro-American Sons and Daughters. This fraternal society operated the Afro-American Hospital, a leading healthcare provider for Blacks […]

Amos v. Prom is Decided

*On this date in 1954, Amos v. Prom, Inc. was decided. This case involved a Black citizen being denied access to a public business based on race. The plaintiffs were George Dunn and William Pappas, citizens and residents of the State of Iowa. The defendant is a corporation organized under the laws of the State […]

Theodore Shaw, Lawyer, and Educator born

*Theodore Shaw was born on this date in 1954.  He is a Black lawyer, activist, and educator.  Theodore Michael Shaw is the son of Theodore and Jean Audrey Churchill Shaw. He was born on Governors Island and raised in Harlem and the Bronx, NY. He received his B.A. from Wesleyan University in 1976 and his […]

Lezli Baskerville, Lawyer, and Education Advocate born.

*Lezli Baskerville was born on this date in 1956. She is a Black lawyer, judge, and education advocate. Baskerville was born in Montclair, New Jersey, to Marjorie Baskerville and Charles W. Baskerville. Her mother was a teacher and social worker, and her father was a marketing executive. She has an identical twin, Dr. Renee E. […]

Browder v. Gayle is Filed

*On this date in 1956, Fred Gray filed the case of Browder v. Gayle in U.S. District Court. (Browder was a Montgomery housewife; Gayle the mayor of Montgomery).

The South Africa Treason Trial Begins

*On this date in 1956, the South Africa Treason trial began. This Treason Trial was a prosecution in Johannesburg in which 156 primarily Black citizens were arrested in a raid and accused of treason in South Africa. On December 5 of that year, the South African Police’s Security Branch raided and arrested 140 people from […]