BHS Day 13: Constance Baker Motley

Hi! For our second ELM Spotlight we're getting to the Legal third of the category. I think I said this last week, but I have a harder time with this category than probably any other that I do throughout the week. There are so many Black education, legal and medical pioneers, people who have radically changed our way of life in ways that usually go unnoticed, that I want to talk about them all at once. I thought about continuing BHS throughout the year but making it one entry a month so that I could talk about them, but that presented two separate issues so I decided against it. For now. lol Let's get to today's entrant, who broke a lot of barriers for Black women in the legal field. 

Source

Name: Constance Baker Motley, 1921-2005

Profession: Lawyer, federal judge and legal advocate

Why is the Spotlight on her today? For her work during the civil rights movement, her long career in the legal industry and the glass ceiling she broke through for other Black women in law

Notables:
--Worked with the National Youth Administration
--Was the first Black woman to be accepted into Columbia Law School
--Served as the NAACP's Legal Defense Fund's associate counsel, where she helped write the briefs for the Brown v. Board case, which ended segregation 
--Won 9 of the 10 civil rights cases she took to the Supreme Court 
--Served a full term in the New York Senate, making her the first Black woman to do so
--Was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame in 1993
--Was the first Black woman to be appointed president of a borough when she became Manhattan Borough President in 1965
--Was appointed by then-President Lyndon B. Johnson to the US District Court in 1966, making her the first Black woman to serve on the federal bench
--Was the recipient of the Florence E. Allen Award, which was given to her by the NY Women's Bar Association 
--Was awarded the Presidential Citizens' Medal by then-President Bill Clinton in 2001 for her service to civil rights and the nation 
--During her time on the federal bench, served first as chief judge and was later promoted to senior judge, which she maintained until her death
--Defended the Freedom Rides sit-in protesters
--Was awarded over 50 medals and at least 8 honorary doctorates throughout her career
--Was the subject of the 1998 autobiography Equal Justice Under Law

Further reading links: 1 | 2 | 3


Quotes of the Day: 
"When I went to law school, nobody heard of civil rights."
"I rejected the notion that my race or sex would bar my success in life."
--Constance Baker Motley