Constance Baker Motley
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Constance Baker Motley (14 September 1921–28 September 2005) was an African American civil rights activist, lawyer, judge, and state senator.
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[edit] Early Life and Academics
She was born in New Haven, Connecticut, the ninth of twelve children. Her parents had immigrated from Nevis, in the Caribbean; her mother was the founder of the New Haven chapter of the NAACP. With financial help from a local philanthropist, Clarence Blakeslee, she initially attended Fisk University, a historically black college in Tennessee, before deciding to move to an integrated university. Motley graduated from New York University in 1943, then received her law degree from Columbia Law School in 1946. Her legal career began as a law clerk in the fledgling NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund (LDF), where she worked with Thurgood Marshall, Jack Greenberg, and others. The LDF's first female attorney, she became Associate Counsel to the LDF, making her the NAACP's lead trial attorney.
[edit] Civil Rights Work
In 1950 she wrote the original complaint in the case of Brown v. Board of Education. The first African-American woman ever to argue a case before the U.S. Supreme Court, in Meredith v. Fair she successfully won James Meredith's effort to be the first black student to attend the University of Mississippi. Motley was successful in nine of the ten cases she argued before the Supreme Court. The tenth decision, regarding jury composition, was eventually overturned in her favor. She was otherwise a key legal strategist in the civil rights movement, helping to desegregate Southern schools, buses, and lunch counters.
[edit] Political & Judicial Firsts
In 1964, Motley became the first African American woman elected to the New York State Senate. In 1965, she was chosen Manhattan Borough President—the first woman and first African American in that position. In 1966, President Lyndon Johnson named her a federal court judge—the first African American woman so named—where she continued (including a term as chief judge) until her death. At the time of her death, she was a district judge for the United States District Court Southern District of New York.
[edit] Honors
In 1993, she was inducted into National Women's Hall of Fame. In 2001, President Bill Clinton awarded her the Presidential Citizens Medal. The NAACP awarded her the Spingarn Medal, the organization's highest honor, in 2003. Motley was a prominent honorary member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.
[edit] Later Life
Motley died of congestive heart failure on September 28, 2005 at NYU Downtown Hospital in New York City. Her funeral was held at Saint Luke's Episcopal Church in New Haven, Connecticut where she was married years earlier.
[edit] References
- Rachel Christmas Derrick, "A Columbian Ahead of Her Time", Columbia Magazine, Spring 2004.
- Hodgson, Godfrey, "Constance Baker Motley", The Guardian, Oct. 1, 2005.
- Douglas Martin, "Constance Baker Motley, Civil Rights Trailblazer, Dies at 84", New York Times, Sept. 29, 2005.
- Larry Neumeister, "Legendary Civil Rights Lawyer Constance Baker Motley Dies at 84", Newsday (Associated Press), Sept. 28, 2005.
- Judge Constance Baker Motley - Brown@50, Howard University School of Law
- "Judge Constance Baker Motley: A Life in Pursuit of Justice", obituary notice in The Defender (newsletter of the NAACP LDF), winter 2006.
[edit] External links
| Preceded by ? |
New York State Senate, 21st District 1964–1965 |
Succeeded by ? |
| Preceded by Edward R. Dudley |
Borough President of Manhattan 1965 - 1966 |
Succeeded by Percy Sutton |
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