People, Locations, Episodes

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.

Virginia’s Racial Integrity Act is Passed

*On this date in 1924, The Racial Integrity Act was passed in Virginia.   The state’s General Assembly passed two laws arising from white concerns about eugenics and race. This was influenced by the Virginia Sterilization Act of 1924 due to the number of cases reported by doctors where they found genetic traits in whites that are also found in African Americans […]

David Lee Sr., Businessman born

David Jonathon Lee Sr. was born on this date in 1924. He was an African American lawyer and entrepreneur.

From Lincoln, NE., He was the youngest son of Robert and Blanche Lee. He was orphaned at the age of ten due to the early death of his parents and raised by his Uncle George and Aunt Elnora Evans. Lee attended Whittier Junior high school and graduated from Lincoln Senior high school in 1942. During that time he excelled in many areas, most notably were mathematics and debate. Drafted into the army, he served in the European Theater and was discharged as a Master Sergeant.

Jack Greenberg, Lawyer born.

*Jack Greenberg was born on this date in 1924. He was a white Jewish-American attorney and legal scholar born in Brooklyn, New York.  Greenberg served in the United States Navy during World War II and fought at Okinawa and Iwo Jima. He commanded a landing craft in the invasion of Iheya Shima, one of the final campaigns of the war. During his […]

Benjamin Hooks, Activist, Lawyer, and Minister born

*Benjamin Hooks was born on this date in 1925. He was an African American civil rights activist, lawyer and minister.

Robert Wright, Lawyer born

*Robert Wright was born on this date in 1925. He was a Black lawyer and public servant.  Born in Chicago, Illinois, Robert Wright was the son of Julius Wright and Myrtle Terrell. He graduated from East High School in 1943. After graduation, He enrolled in the United States Army and served in England, France, and […]

South Africa’s First Immorality Act is Imposed

*On this date, 1927, South Africa’s first Immorality Act was issued. This was the title of acts of the Parliament of South Africa, which prohibited, amongst other things, sexual relations between white people and people of different races until amended first in 1950. Part of the Apartheid regime was installed to prohibit sex between whites […]

A. L. Higginbotham, Judge, Educator, and Activist born

*On this date in 1928, A. L. Higginbotham Jr. was born. He was an African American federal judge, scholar, and civil rights advocate.

Demetrius Newton, Politician, and Lawyer born

*Demetrius Newton was born on this date in 1928. He was a politician and civil rights lawyer.

Newton, a native of Fairfield, Ala. and was a graduate of Fairfield Industrial H.S. Newton then graduated from Wilberforce University in Ohio and Boston University’s law school. After he graduated from law school, Newton served in the United States Army’s 325th Regiment of the 82nd Airborne Division during the Korean War. After his service in the military, Newton moved to Birmingham, Alabama, where he worked as a civil rights attorney.

Fred Gray, Attorney and Preacher born

*Fred Gray was born on this date in 1930. He is a Black civil rights attorney, preacher, and activist.   Born in Montgomery, Alabama, Fred David Gray attended the Loveless School, where his aunt taught, until the seventh grade. He attended the Nashville Christian Institute (NCI), a boarding school operated by the Churches of Christ. He assisted the NCI president in […]

E. Ginger Sullivan, Lawyer, and Administrator born.

*E. Ginger Sullivan was born on this date in 1933.  She is a Black lawyer and civic health administrator. E. Ginger Williamson was born to Catherine Caesar and James Williamson in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. She attended Cranville Elementary School and Pittsfield High School. In 1955, Sullivan received her B.A. degree from Northeastern University. She received her […]

Willie Brown Jr., Lawyer, and Politician born

*Willie Brown was born on this date in 1934. He is a Black lawyer, politician and businessman.