by GSU Law Student

CELEBRATING BLACK HISTORY MONTH: Charles Hamilton Houston

For Black History Month, the Law Library will spotlight Black law figures throughout history and their contributions to the legal field. Each week, a different figure will be featured.

by Sydney Hamilton, 1L

Charles Hamilton Houston in undated photo taken sometime between 1940-50. Photographer unknown. From the Library of Congress NAACP collection of portraits of founders, board members, staff, branch officers and other prominent cultural, social and political figures. LOT 13074, no 249 [P&P].

Charles Hamilton Houston (September 3, 1895 – April 22, 1950)

Born in Washington, D.C., Charles Hamilton Houston first encountered the legal field through his father, a hard-working attorney in the nation’s capital. However, his father’s exemplary career did not solely inspire Houston to go down a similar path. After graduating from Amherst College and teaching at Howard University, Houston enlisted in the military when the First World War began. During this time, Houston experienced tremendous racial discrimination. He came to a bewildering epiphany: he served a country that did not even value his life and scorned his existence. “I made up my mind,” Houston once said, “that if I got through this war, I would study law and use my time fighting back for men who could not strike back.”[1]

Houston returned to the U.S. in April 1919, the beginning of a period now called the “Red Summer.” This period of violence resulted from several events. For one, the war had further encouraged the Great Migration, a mass emigration of Blacks to the North and the Midwest from the South, seeking to escape increasing racial violence and find better job opportunities. At the same time, the veterans were returning home from the war. This led to a flurry of emotions and opposing attitudes. Many White veterans and civilians were upset about Blacks “taking” jobs that Whites felt rightly belonged to them. Additionally, Whites feared that many of the Black veterans, now equipped with more experience and military training, would no longer allow themselves to be subjected to the racial status quo established in the U.S. On the other hand, many Black veterans were returning from foreign countries where they had been treated better and resented coming home to a country that did not appreciate their service. These rising tensions culminated in some of the bloodiest riots in American history, the worst occurring in Elaine, Arkansas, where at least 100 Black Americans were killed. However, this was notably one of the first times in U.S. history that the Black community had collectively fought back against racial violence.

These events colored Houston’s law school education when he entered Harvard Law School. While there, Houston became the first Black student elected to Harvard Law Review’s editorial board. He later obtained a Sheldon Traveling Fellowship, which allowed him to study at the University of Madrid and earn a Civil Law degree. After graduating, Houston returned to Washington and joined his father’s law practice, one of the first Black law firms established in D.C.

A foundational tenant of Houston’s approach to the law was the importance of defending and protecting the Black community. He felt that Black lawyers had an obligation to argue on behalf of their community because White lawyers could not be depended on to fight against racial injustice. Eventually, Houston began teaching part-time at Howard Law School and was appointed vice-dean in 1929. In his new role, Houston made it his mission to turn Howard Law School into a “training ground” for future civil rights lawyers, such as Thurgood Marshall. Before long, Houston turned the law school into a formidable institution, helping them to attain accreditation from the American Bar Association.

In 1935, Houston left Howard to work as the first special counsel for the NAACP. Houston’s main objective was to diminish and eventually abolish Jim Crow laws, which he did through his arguments in several civil rights cases. However, Houston’s most impactful contribution was his strategy to debunk the “separate but equal” myth from Plessy v Ferguson (1897). He first used this tactic in Missouri ex rel. Gaines v. Canada (1939), arguing that it was unconstitutional to prevent a Black applicant from attending a law school “when no comparable facility for Blacks existed in the State.” Winning that case proved the effectiveness of Houston’s ingenious approach.

Houston’s efforts officially paid off in Brown v. Board of Education (1954), when the courts declared segregation in public schools unconstitutional. Unfortunately, Houston passed away four years earlier, in 1950, before seeing the fruits of his labor. However, his pupil, Thurgood Marshall, made the winning argument in the case. So, perhaps Houston’s spirit was present that day.

[1] “Charles Hamilton Houston.” Harvard & the Legacy of Slavery, legacyofslavery.harvard.edu/alumni/charles-hamilton-houston. Accessed 18 Feb. 2024.

Other Sources:

“Charles Hamilton Houston.” Separate Is Not Equal: Brown V. Board of Education, americanhistory.si.edu/brown/history/3-organized/charles-houston.html. Accessed 18 Feb. 2024.

“Charles Hamilton Houston.” NAACP, naacp.org/find-resources/history-explained/civil-rights-leaders/charles-hamilton-houston. Accessed 18 Feb. 2024.

“Long Road to Brown: Cases and Lawyers: Charles Hamilton Houston.” Beyond Brown: Pursuing the Promise, www.pbs.org/beyondbrown/history/charleshouston.html. Accessed 18 Feb. 2024.

“Red Summer: The Race Riots of 1919.” The National WWI Museum and Memorial, http://www.theworldwar.org/learn/about-wwi/red-summer. Accessed 18 Feb. 2024.

“Racial Violence and the Red Summer.” National Archives, http://www.archives.gov/research/african-americans/wwi/red-summer. Accessed 18 Feb. 2024.

02.13.24

by GSU Law Student

CELEBRATING BLACK HISTORY MONTH: Pauli Murray

For Black History Month, the Law Library will spotlight Black law figures throughout history and their contributions to the legal field. Each week, a different figure will be featured.

by Sydney Hamilton, 1L

*“Pauli Murray approx. 1955” by FDR Presidential Library & Museum is licensed under CC BY 2.0.*

Pauli Murray (November 20, 1910 – July 1, 1985)

A frustrating truth about history is that for all the trailblazers and visionaries who fought for change, only a select few go down as household names. However, the present allows us to rediscover those figures that helped to ensure the very future we now sit in. One such figure is Pauli Murray.

As soon as they were born, Anne Pauline “Pauli” Murray could not ignore the subject of race. The violence of slavery impacted their family’s genetic makeup, as many of Murray’s ancestors were the children of white enslavers and enslaved Black women. However, this resulted in what Murray described as a “mini-United Nations”[1] and that simply by existing, they defied an era shaped by segregation.

At age three, Murray’s mother died, and their father arranged for Murray to leave Baltimore and live with their maternal aunt and grandparents in Durham, North Carolina. Murray thrived in Durham, teaching themselves to read by age five. In school, Murray excelled academically and had their hands in as many extracurriculars as possible, from president of the literary society to editor-in-chief of the school newspaper to forward on the basketball team. It’s no wonder that, throughout their life, Murray would be known for wearing many hats.

In 1926, Murray graduated high school at 15 with qualifications to attend any university. While they dreamed of attending Columbia, the university did not accept women then. This reality of segregation by gender also infuriated them. Instead, Murray enrolled at Hunter College- a racially integrated women’s college in New York City.

During and after college, Murray began to question their gender and their sexuality and officially changed their name from “Anne Pauline” to “Pauli.” Murray experimented with dressing more masculine and even asked doctors to examine them, seeking gender-affirming treatments that did not exist then. Questions about their gender identity often influenced Murray’s writings about gender equality.

In the late 1930s and early 1940s, Murray truly stepped into their role as a civil rights activist. When Murray applied to the University of North Carolina for graduate school, they were rejected because of their race. In response, Murray began a letter-writing campaign, writing to several officials, such as the university presidents, newspapers, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. The First Lady responded, and this correspondence led to a decades-long friendship between Pauli and Eleanor. Additionally, on a trip from New York to California in 1940, Murray and a friend were arrested when they refused to sit in the back of the bus. Later, while working for the Worker’s Defense League, Murray assisted in the case of a black sharecropper who had been sentenced to life for killing his white landlord during an argument. These events, among others, inspired Murray to pursue a legal education.

In 1941, Murray began attending Howard University Law School and was the only woman in their class. The experience led Murray to coin the term “Jane Crow,” similar to Jim Crow but focused on the inherent misogynoir of segregation. Murray continued to fight for equal rights, often leading protests and sit-ins on Howard University’s campus.

More than anything, it was Pauli Murray’s words which defined their life and, ultimately, the lives of so many others. In 1948, Murray published their first book, States’ Laws on Race and Color, a 700-hundred-page analysis and critique of segregation in the United States. The book greatly influenced Thurgood Marshall, who “referred to the work as ‘the bible’ of Brown v. Board of Education.”[2] A case argued by Murray and attorney Dorothy Kenyon for women to have the equal right to serve on juries inspired Ruth Bader Ginsburg to the point where, when Ginsburg wrote her brief for Reed v. Reed, a landmark decision that made differential treatment on the basis of sex unconstitutional, Ginsburg credited Murray as a co-author.[3]

Murray acquired many other accolades, like being the first Black person to receive a JSD from Yale Law School and the first Black woman to become an ordained priest in the Episcopal Church. Though Murray’s name and life may not be familiar to some, their contributions have made an invaluable mark on history and the future as we know it. In 2024, Murray is scheduled to have their face featured on the U.S. Quarter, a tribute that should encourage more people to recognize Pauli Murray’s name.

[1] “Life Story: Pauli Murray (1910-1985).” Women & the American Story by the New-York Historical Society, (last visited Feb. 13, 2024). wams.nyhistory.org/confidence-and-crises/world-war-ii/pauli-murray/.

[2] Emma Rothberg. “Pauli Murray.” National Women’s History Museum, (2021). http://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/pauli-murray.

[3] Philippa Strum. “Pauli Murray’s Indelible Mark on the Fight for Equal Rights.” American Civil Liberties Union, (June 24, 2020). https://www.aclu.org/issues/womens-rights/pauli-murrays-indelible-mark-fight-equal-rights.

Other sources:

Julian Cardillo. “Pauli Murray, Civil Rights Icon and Former Professor, to Appear on American Quarter.” Brandeis University, (Feb. 7, 2024). http://www.brandeis.edu/75/stories/pauli-murray-quarter.html.

“Pauli Murray.” Maryland Women’s Hall of Fame, (last visited Feb. 13, 2024). msa.maryland.gov/msa/educ/exhibits/womenshallfame/html/murray.html.

“Pauli Murray As a LGBTQ+ Historical Figure.” National Museum of African American History & Culture, (last visited Feb. 13, 2024). nmaahc.si.edu/explore/stories/pauli-murray-lgbtq-historical-figure.

“The Pioneering Pauli Murray: Lawyer, Activist, Scholar and Priest.” National Museum of African American History & Culture, (last visited Feb. 13, 2024). nmaahc.si.edu/explore/stories/pioneering-pauli-murray-lawyer-activist-scholar-and-priest.

“Who Is the Rev. Dr. Pauli Murray?” Pauli Murray Center for History and Social Justice, (last visited Feb. 13, 2024). http://www.paulimurraycenter.com/who-is-pauli.

02.05.24

by GSU Law Student

CELEBRATING BLACK HISTORY MONTH: Thurgood Marshall

For Black History Month, the Law Library will spotlight Black law figures throughout history and their contributions to the legal field. Each week, a different figure will be featured.

by Sydney Hamilton, 1L

Photo taken by Yoichi R. Okamoto on June 13, 1967.

Thurgood Marshall (June 2, 1908 – January 24, 1993)

History often remembers Thoroughgood “Thurgood” Marshall as a focused, articulate man who dedicated his life to the law and the people. However, as a kid growing up in Baltimore, Maryland, his high school teachers knew Marshall better for being a bit of a class clown with a rambunctious nature. Funny enough, his punishment for misbehaving turned out to be a glimpse into his future: sitting on a bench, reading the Constitution.

As a Black boy living in the inner city, Marshall recognized the effects of segregation. However, being uniquely familiar with the Constitution, he realized understanding and reshaping the law would be the key to eliminating this injustice. After high school, Marshall attended Lincoln University in Pennsylvania, where his classmates included the soon-to-be-renowned poet Langston Hughes. After a hazing incident with his fraternity earned him a two-week suspension, Marshall focused his attention and energy on his academics. His involvement in the debate club furthered his passion to become a lawyer. In 1930, Marshall graduated at the top of his class.

After marrying his wife, Viven, Marshall continued to work towards his goal. However, the ever-looming presence of racial discrimination nearly thwarted his plans. The University of Maryland School of Law rejected Marshall based on his race. Instead, he attended Howard University but still dealt with financial burdens. His mother pawned her wedding rings to pay for his tuition.

During law school, he began to formulate the perspectives and arguments that would later define his career. While there, he studied under Charles Hamilton Houston, the vice dean at the law school and later, the director of NAACP’s Legal Defense and Education Fund. Through Houston, Marshall better understood how the Constitution and the law could be used to extinguish racial discrimination. After graduating from Howard as valedictorian in 1933, Marshall moved back to Baltimore to take his first steps as a lawyer.

Back in Baltimore, Marshall opened his own practice, assisting clients even if they could not pay. Eventually, he dedicated more time to volunteering with the Baltimore chapter of the NAACP. One of Marshall’s first significant strides came in the case of Murray v. Pearson (1936). Just like Marshall, the University of Maryland Law School rejected Donald Murray because of the color of his skin. Marshall sued on Murray’s behalf and, assisting his mentor Houston, won the case.

Following this success, Marshall and Houston strategized how to chip away at the “separate but equal” doctrine from Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) that fueled segregation. In Missouri ex rel Gaines v. Canada (1938), the two men argued that the University of Missouri had violated Lloyd Gaines’s equal protection rights by rejecting him due to his race and thereby denying him legal education equivalent to what white students received. Winning this case set the stage for Marshall’s most memorable victory.

After Houston retired, Marshall took over Houston’s position at the NAACP. He continued to win several more cases before finally landing on the one that would forever impact history: Brown v. Board of Education (1954). In this case, which was five separate cases consolidated into one, Marshall argued that segregating the school system was unequal and unconstitutional. During the second hearing, Marshall stated that segregation evolved from a desire to keep “the people who were formerly in slavery as near to that stage as possible.” After much indecision and deliberation, the Supreme Court finally ruled that the “separate but equal” doctrine should not take precedence in the public education system.

In the years following that decision, Marshall was appointed as a federal judge and then Solicitor General before eventually being appointed as the first Black justice on the U.S. Supreme Court in 1967. As a Justice, Marshall was known for his progressive views and strong moral compass, opposing the death penalty and ensuring the civil rights of all people. Marshall served 25 terms before retiring in 1991 as one of the greatest voices on the Supreme Court.

Sources:

Justice Thurgood Marshall profile – Brown v. Board of Education Re-enactment. United States Courts. (n.d.). https://www.uscourts.gov/educational-resources/educational-activities/justice-thurgood-marshall-profile-brown-v-board

Brown v. Board of Education: The case that changed America. Legal Defense Fund. (2023, December 15). https://www.naacpldf.org/brown-vs-board/

History – Brown v. Board of Education Re-enactment. United States Courts. (n.d.). https://www.uscourts.gov/educational-resources/educational-activities/history-brown-v-board-education-re-enactment

Thurgood Marshall. Oyez. (n.d.). https://www.oyez.org/justices/thurgood_marshall