People, Locations, Episodes

Robert E. Lillard, Lawyer, Politician, and Activist born

Robert Emmitt Lillard was born on this date in 1907. He was an African American lawyer, politician, and activist.

Born in Nashville to John W. and Virginia (Allen) Lillard, he was educated at Immaculate Mother’s Academy and in local public schools. He then attended Beggins Commercial College, although his ambition was to become a lawyer. In 1928, R. E. Lillard began work as a garage attendant and married Hallie C. Moore. They had three children: Gladys, Sandra, and Robert Walter. Lillard entered law school in 1932 at Nashville’s Kent College of Law.

Oliver W. Hill, Lawyer, and Activist born

Oliver W Hill, Sr., an African American attorney and activist, was born on this date in 1907.

Jane Bolin, Lawyer, and Judge born

On this date in 1908, Jane M. Bolin was born. She was an African American lawyer who became the first Black female judge in America.

Thurgood Marshall, Lawyer, and Judge born

*On this date, Thurgood Marshall was born in 1908. He was an African American lawyer and Supreme Court Justice.

G. J. Sutton, Civic Leader born

*G.J. Sutton was born on this date in 1909. He was a Black civil rights leader and politician.   His birth name was Garlington Jerome (G.J.). He was the eighth of fifteen children. His parents, Samuel and Lillian, were both educators in Bexar County. He also served as principal of three high schools. All of his siblings graduated […]

George Crockett, Lawyer, Judge, and Congressman born

*On this date in 1909, George Crockett was born. He was an African American lawyer, State Judge, and a U. S. Representative from Michigan.

Luther T. Glanton Jr., Judge born

*Luther T. Glanton was born on this date in 1910. He was a Black attorney, judge, and civil rights activist. Luther T. Glanton Jr. was born in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, the fourth of nine children of Luther T. Glanton Sr., a teacher and custodian at a local bank, and Katherine (Leigh) Glanton, a midwife and homemaker. […]

Martin A. Martin, Attorney born

*Martin A. Martin was born on this date in 1910. He was a Black criminal and civil rights attorney. Martin Armstrong Martin was born to Romey Orlando Martin and his wife Hattie Inge in Pittsylvania County, Virginia. The family included older sisters, Costello and Beatrice Martin, and Willie Gladys Martin, older brothers, former Tuskegee Airmen […]

Clarence Mitchell Jr. , Lawyer, and Lobbyist born

*On this date in 1911, Clarence Mitchell was born. He was an African American lawyer and lobbyist.

From Baltimore, Mitchell attended Lincoln University in Pennsylvania receiving an A.B. degree in 1932. The following year he joined the Baltimore Afro-American newspaper as a reporter. Five years later he ran unsuccessfully for the Maryland House of Delegates on the socialist party ticket. In 1938, he was named executive secretary of the Minnesota branch of the National Urban League.

William Ming Jr., Lawyer born

*William Ming Jr., a black lawyer and law professor, was born on this date in 1911. William Robert Ming Jr. was born in Chicago to Annie and William Ming Sr., a South Side Chicago municipal employee. Young Ming Jr. worked as a grocery clerk and on wrecking crews while putting himself through the University of […]

Leona P. Thurman, Lawyer born

Leona Pouncey Thurman was born on this date in 1911. She was an African American attorney.

Born in Russellville, Arkansas, Thurman attended Henderson Business College in Memphis before settling in Kansas City in 1931. She became attracted to the law profession as a career while working as a secretary for attorney James D. Pouncey, whom she married in 1937. Following her husband’s death, Leona Pouncey attended Howard University Law School. She received her law degree in 1949 and became the first Black woman to practice law in Kansas City.

James Parsons, Judge born

*James Parsons was born on this date in 1911. He was an African American lawyer and judge.

Lloyd Gaines, Law Student born.

*The birth of Lloyd Gaines is celebrated on this date in 1911. He was a Black law student and racial segregation plaintiff. Born in Water Valley, Mississippi, Lloyd Lionel Gaines moved with his mother and siblings to St. Louis, Missouri, in 1926 after the death of their father. Part of the Great Migration from rural communities in […]

The National Negro Bar Association is formed

*The National Negro Bar Association (NNBA) began on this date in 1912.   It was the first national bar association for African American lawyers in the United States. The NNBA was founded in Little Rock, Arkansas. At the time, the American Bar Association refused to accept black members, making the NNBA the only national bar association […]

Stanley Levison, Lawyer born

*Stanley David Levison, a white Jewish-American businessman, lawyer, and lifelong activist for progressive causes, was born on this date in 1912 in New York City. He attended the University of Michigan, Columbia University, and the New School for Social Research. He received two law degrees from St. John’s University. While serving as treasurer of the American Jewish Congress in Manhattan, he […]