People, Locations, Episodes

Sadie Alexander, Lawyer born

On this date Sadie Alexander, an African American lawyer and activist was born in in 1898.

Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander was a pioneer among Black women in United States law and education, and a committed civil rights activist. She was born in Philadelphia into an accomplished family. She was educated in Philadelphia and Washington D.C. Alexander graduated from M Street High School (now Dunbar high school) in Washington, and entered the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Education in 1915. Graduating in 1918, she helped found the gamma Chapter of the Delta Theta Sorority.

The ‘Grandfather Clause’ is Enacted

*On this date in 1898, the “Grandfather Clause” was enacted for voting purposes.

The Grandfather Clause was a legal or constitutional mechanism passed by seven Southern states during reconstruction to deny suffrage to black Americans. It meant that those who had enjoyed the right to vote prior to 1867, or their lineal descendants, would be exempt from educational, property, or tax requirements for voting. As a result, even if they met all the requirements, they were not allowed to vote.

Williams v. B.O.E. is Decided

*On this date in 1898, Williams v. Board of Education was decided.  This landmark civil rights and education case was before the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals. In Williams v. Board of Education, black lawyer J.R. Clifford argued against the 1892 Tucker County Board of Education’s decision to shorten the school year for African American schoolchildren from nine […]

Alexander Tureaud, Lawyer born

*Alexander Tureaud was born on this date in 1899. He was an African American Attorney and civil rights leader.

Alexander Pierre Tureaud, Sr. grew up at 907 Kerlerac Street, one block below Esplanade, at the bend of Dauphine in New Orleans’ Seventh Ward, known as the black Creole community. His father, Louis Tureaud, was a carpenter/contractor and his mother Eugenia was a housewife and part-time domestic. There were eleven children, six boys and five girls. The family attended St. Augustine Catholic Church.

Clifford Durr, Attorney born

*The birth of Clifford Durr in 1899 is marked on this date. He was a White American lawyer.

Z. A. Looby, Lawyer, and Businessman born

*Z. Alexander Looby was born on his date in 1899. He was an African American lawyer and businessman.

Hubert Delany, Lawyer, and Judge born

*Hubert Delany was born on this date in 1901. He was a Black lawyer, politician, and judge. From North Carolina, Hubert Thomas Delany was the eighth of ten children born to the Rev. Henry Beard Delany and Nannette James Logan Delany, an educator. His father was born into slavery in St. Mary’s, Georgia. Delany was born and […]

Loren Miller, Lawyer, and Judge born

*Loren Miller was born on this date in 1903. He was an African American journalist, civil rights activist, attorney and judge.

He was born in Pender, Nebraska to former slave, John Miller, and Nora Herbaugh, a White Midwesterner of Dutch ancestry. Miller attended Kansas University and received his law degree from Washburn Law School in Topeka, Kansas in 1928.

Ronald Davies, Lawyer and Judge born

*Ronald Davies was born on this date in 1904. He was a white-American lawyer and Judge who was born in Grand Forks, ND. A 1922 Grand Forks Central High School graduate, he received a bachelor’s degree from the University of North Dakota in 1927. Davies attended law school at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., graduating […]

Leon Jordan, Teacher, and Police Detective born

Leon Jordan was born on this date in 1905. He was an African American teacher, police detective and politician.

Born in Kansas City, MO., Jordan graduated from Wilberforce University, in Wilberforce, Ohio, and later worked as a social caseworker and teacher. In 1938, he joined the Kansas City Police Department, aftrer 16 years becoming the first African American to achieve the rank of lieutenant. He was granted an extended leave of absence in 1947, and lived for eight years in the West African country of Liberia, where he reorganized a 450-man police force.

Theodore Berry, Attorney, and Politician born

Theodore M. Berry, an African American politician, was born on this date in 1905.

He was born in Maysville, a small town on the banks of the Ohio River, to a white father, a farmer he met only once, and a deaf mother who and communicated with him only in sign language. As a child, he sold newspapers, shined shoes, shoveled coal, delivered laundry, shelved books in local libraries, and worked as a desk clerk at the “Black” YMCA in Cincinnati, where he roomed during high school.

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.

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 […]