List of first minority male lawyers and judges in Tennessee

This is a list of the first minority male lawyer(s) and judge(s) in Tennessee. It includes the year in which the men were admitted to practice law (in parentheses). Also included are other distinctions such as the first minority men in their state to graduate from law school or become a political figure.

Firsts in Tennessee's history

edit
 
Fredrick McGhee: First African American male lawyer in Tennessee (1885)
 
Benjamin Hooks: First African American male judge in Tennessee since Reconstruction Era (1965)

Lawyers

edit

State judges

edit

Federal judges

edit

Assistant United States Attorney

edit

Assistant District Attorney

edit

Public Defender

edit

Faculty

edit
  • First African American male law professor: Joseph H. Dismukes in 1883[21]

Firsts in local history

edit

See also

edit

Other topics of interest

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ "History and Milestones | Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts". www.tncourts.gov. Retrieved 2024-06-08.
  2. ^ "Yardley, William Francis (1844-1924) | The Black Past: Remembered and Reclaimed". www.blackpast.org. Retrieved 2017-10-26.
  3. ^ Strauch, Irving (1992). "Jewish Judges from Memphis" (PDF). Jewish Historical Society of Memphis and the Mid-South.
  4. ^ Brock, Roslyn M. (2010-05-03). "Benjamin Hooks". Time. ISSN 0040-781X. Retrieved 2018-01-11.
  5. ^ The Crisis. The Crisis Publishing Company, Inc. 2010.
  6. ^ "Milestones". benfjones.org. Retrieved 2018-01-12.
  7. ^ a b The Journal of the Constitutional Convention. The Convention. 1977.
  8. ^ a b c d "Justice A.A. Birch dies at age 78". Retrieved 2018-01-12.
  9. ^ a b c d Ely, James W.; Brown (Jr.), Theodore; Huebner, Timothy S.; Brown, R. Ben; Thompson, Ruth Anne; Vile, John R.; Pierce, Carl A. (2002). A History of the Tennessee Supreme Court. Univ. of Tennessee Press. ISBN 978-1-57233-178-5.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h "Milestones « Ben F. Jones Chapter of the National Bar Association". benfjones.com. Retrieved 2020-03-05.
  11. ^ Upon Birch's appointment as a Criminal Court Judge for the Twentieth District (Davidson County) in 1978
  12. ^ Ely, James W.; (Jr.), Theodore Brown (2002). A History of the Tennessee Supreme Court. Univ. of Tennessee Press. ISBN 9781572331785.
  13. ^ Sabato, Larry (2003). Midterm Madness: The Elections of 2002. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 9780742526860.
  14. ^ Gainey, Blaise (2023-10-02). "Tennessee Judge Richard Dinkins, who paved the way for desegregating Nashville schools, has died". WPLN News. Retrieved 2023-10-04.
  15. ^ Mason, Richard. "Judge Hector Sanchez becomes first Hispanic trial court judge in Tennessee". WVLT. Retrieved 2022-10-21.
  16. ^ a b Staff, Times; Reports, Wire (2006-02-24). "Odell Horton, 77; First Modern Black Federal Judge in Tennessee". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 2018-01-12.
  17. ^ "Judge 'Joe' Haynes Jr. plans to take a step back". The Tennessean. Retrieved 2018-01-19.
  18. ^ "Varlan Sworn in as Eastern District's Chief Federal Judge - Articles". www.tba.org. Retrieved 2023-12-18.
  19. ^ "Here's something you don't see every day: A Republican gave a Joe Biden judicial nominee the one vote he needed to pass the Senate". www.politico.com. Retrieved 2024-02-22.
  20. ^ "Judge Arthur T. Bennett honored for his service to the state of Tennessee". localmemphis.com. Retrieved 2020-03-05.
  21. ^ deGregory, Crystal A. (May 2011). "RAISING A NONVIOLENT ARMY: FOUR NASHVILLE BLACK COLLEGES AND THE CENTURY-LONG STRUGGLE FOR CIVIL RIGHTS, 1830s-1930s" (PDF). Graduate School of Vanderbilt University.
  22. ^ King, Lovalerie (2003). A Student's Guide to African American Literature, 1760 to the Present. Peter Lang. ISBN 9780820455211.
  23. ^ "No Story Untold - Parthenon Publishing". Parthenon Publishing. 2016-12-05. Retrieved 2018-02-14.
  24. ^ "Classmate Announcements - Vanderbilt Lawyer (Volume 37, Number 1)". law.vanderbilt.edu. Retrieved 2018-02-14.
  25. ^ "Martesha L. Johnson, Chief Public Defender – Public Defender of Metropolitan Nashville & Davidson County". publicdefender.nashville.gov. Retrieved 2022-01-28.
  26. ^ "Race relations in Chattanooga". timesfreepress.com. Retrieved 2020-03-12.
  27. ^ "Gerald Webb Sworn In As The First African American Judge For Hamilton County, Tennessee, Courts". Essence. Retrieved 2019-07-17.
  28. ^ Smith, Jessie Carney (2012-12-01). Black Firsts: 4,000 Ground-Breaking and Pioneering Historical Events. Visible Ink Press. ISBN 9781578594245.
  29. ^ Clark, Alexis (22 February 2021). "Meet Montgomery County's first Black judge". The Leaf Chronicle. p. A.1. ProQuest 2491958513.
  30. ^ "Karen Willis county's first black female assistant DA". The Leaf-Chronicle. Clarksville, Tennessee. October 16, 2012. p. E4. Retrieved 2018-02-14 – via Newspapers.com.
  31. ^ Trotter, Megan. "Contributors to progress honored at IMPACT banquet". Herald Citizen. Retrieved 2020-03-13.
  32. ^ Hawkins, Sydney. "Shelby County elects its first Black juvenile court judge". Action News 5. Retrieved 2022-08-12.
  33. ^ "George Morris Obituary (1941 - 2018) - Charleston, SC - Charleston Post & Courier". Legacy.com. Retrieved 2023-12-19.
  34. ^ Moore, Scott (1998-08-30). "JOE BROWN: JUDGE FOR YOURSELF". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2022-02-15.