People, Locations, Episodes

Juanita Mitchell, Lawyer born

Juanita Jackson Mitchell was born on this date in 1913. She was an African American lawyer, administrator, and activist.

William McClain, Judge born

*William McClain was born on this date in 1913. He was an African American lawyer and Judge.

From Springfield, Ohio, William Andrew McClain was son of Frank and Blanche McClain. He was a 1930 graduate of Springfield High School in he earned his A.B. degree at Wittenberg University in 1934 and his J.D. degree from the University of Michigan in 1937. McClain received L.L.D. degrees from Wilberforce University and the University of Cincinnati in 1963 and 1971, respectively.

Anton Lembede, South African Lawyer and Activist born

*Anton Lembede was born on this date in 1914. He was a Black South African lawyer and activist. Anton Muziwakhe Lembede was born on the farm of Frank Fell near Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu Natal, South Africa. He was the eldest of seven children born to Mbazwana Martin and Martha Nora MaLuthuli Lembede. His father was a […]

Robert L. Carter, Attorney, and Activist born

*Robert Lee Carter was born on this date in 1917. He was an African American Attorney, United States District Judge and Civil Rights activist.

From Caryville, Florida, while still very young, his mother moved north to Newark, New Jersey, where he was raised. Carter graduated from high school at sixteen and earned his undergraduate degree in political science from Lincoln University (Pennsylvania) and his law degree from Howard University School of Law in 1940, both on scholarship. He also was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity.

Bruce Wright, Judge, and Writer born

This date marks the birth of Bruce M. Wright in 1917. He was an African American judge, lawyer, and poet.

He was born in Princeton, N.J., and raised in Harlem, New York. Bruce McMarion Wright’s father was Black and his mother was white. He was awarded a scholarship to attend Princeton in 1939, but denied admission when the university learned that he was Black. Wright was denied admission to Notre Dame on the same grounds.

Donald Hollowell, Lawyer born.

*The birth of Donald Hollowell on this date in 1917 is marked. He was an African American attorney who specialized in Civil Rights.

Juanita Stout, Judge, and Educator born

*The birth of Dr. Juanita Kidd Stout in 1919 is marked on this date. She was an African American educator, lawyer, and in 1959 was one of the first Black women in America to be elected to the Bench.

George E. Carter, Lawyer and Judge born

This date in 1921 marks the birth of George E. Carter, retired Black Canadian judge and lawyer.

Carter is the first native-born, black judge in Canada. He was born in Toronto, Canada, he is the first of 14 children of John Carter and Louise Braithwaite Carter, who were from Barbados. He and all of his brothers and sisters were taught the value of education and achievement by their parents.

The Dyer Anti-Lynching Bill is Introduced

*On this date, 1922, the Dyer Anti-Lynching Bill was introduced.   It was first introduced in 1918 by Representative Leonidas C. Dyer, a Republican from St. Louis, Missouri, in the United States House of Representatives as H.R. 11279. It was intended to establish lynching as a federal crime. The Dyer Anti-Lynching Bill was re-introduced in subsequent sessions of Congress and passed by the U.S. House of […]

Willie S. Glanton, Politician born

*Willie S. Glanton was born on this date in 1922. She was a Black lawyer and politician. Willie Stevenson was born in Hot Springs, Arkansas, and was the daughter of Ervin S. Stevenson and Willie Ever Parker. She graduated from Tennessee State University and Robert Terrell Law School in Washington, D.C., and was admitted to the Iowa […]

The United States v. Bhagat Singh Thind is Ruled

*On this date in 1923, United States v. Bhagat Singh Thind ruled that Indians from India were not white in America.

Moore et al. v. Dempsey is Decided

*On this date in 1923, Moore et al. v. Dempsey was decided.  This was a United States Supreme Court case in which the court ruled 6–2 that the defendants’ mob-dominated trials deprived them of due process guaranteed by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.  Moore v. Dempsey was the first case to come […]

Lawrence Rainey, Police Officer born.

*Lawrence Rainey was born on this date in 1923. He was a white-American police officer and white supremacist. Lawrence Andrew Rainey Sr. grew up in Neshoba and Kemper County, Mississippi. His parents were John and Bessie Rainey. Rainey had a younger brother who died at a young age. Rainey’s education stopped at the 8th grade. His […]

Wiley Branton, Lawyer, and Activist born

Wiley Branton was born on this date in 1923. He was an African American attorney and civil rights activist.

Born in Pine Bluff, AR, Wiley Austin Branton was educated in elementary, junior high, and high schools in Pine Bluff schools. An Army veteran of World War II, Branton spent time teaching Blacks how to mark an election ballot after the war, which resulted in his conviction of a misdemeanor for “teaching the mechanics of voting.” In 1950, he received a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Arkansas A.M.& N. College (now the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff).

Ada Lois Sipuel Fisher, Oklahoma Lawyer born

*On this date in 1924, Ada Lois Sipuel Fisher was born. She was an African American lawyer, administrator and activist.