It is the hope of every person of African descent that the world would one day look at a creation of beautiful people without seeing a skin colour. It would also be nice to know that a black man other than those in sports, can make millions without the perceived notion...."he is probably into drugs." And it would be awesome if one day blacks can feel secure that they do belong in every sphere of society. This week the T&T Guardian is proud to feature Constance Baker-Motley-first African-American woman to ever argue a case before the US Supreme Court, the first to be elected to the New York Senate, and the first ever to be appointed as a federal court judge. Look out next week for the final woman to be featured in the T&T Guardian's tribute to great black women in history-our very own Beryl McBurnie, dance extraordinaire and Founder of the Little Carib Theatre-T&T's first theatre dedicated to the cultural arts in T&T.
History
Born September 14, 1921 in New Haven, Connecticut to a chef who worked for Skull and Bones, an exclusive social club at Yale College in New Haven, Connecticut, Constance Baker found herself from an early age with an overwhelming passion for civil rights. This passion led her to join the local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP) after she was denied admission to a public beach and skating rink. Unable to afford a college education despite her academic talent, she so impressed wealthy white contractor and philanthropist Clarence Blakeslee that he paid for her education. She graduated from New York University in 1943. Three years later, after earning a law degree from Columbia University in New York City, she married Joel Wilson Motley, a real estate and insurance broker. Even before completing law school, she joined the Legal Defense and Educational Fund of the NAACP, where she worked with Thurgood Marshall.
Over the 20-year period during which she served as a staff member and associate counsel, she won nine civil rights victories in cases she argued before the US Supreme Court, including James H Meredith's right to be admitted to the University of Mississippi in 1962. From 1964 to 1965 Motley served a full term in New York state's Senate, and in 1965 she became the first woman to serve as a city borough president. While working in that capacity, Motley developed a plan to revitalise the inner city and to improve housing and inner-city schools. In 1966 President Lyndon B Johnson nominated her to the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, making Motley the first black woman to be appointed to a federal judgeship. Although opposed by southern conservatives in the Senate, she was eventually confirmed and later became chief judge (1982) and senior judge (1986), serving in the latter post until her death on September 28, 2005 in New York.
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