Telford Taylor, Constance Baker Motley, and James K. Feibleman, "Judge Constance Baker Motley: A Life in Pursuit of Justice", obituary notice in, Dale Megan Healey, "Constance Baker Motley Is the Civil Rights Movement's Unsung Heroine,", This page was last edited on 19 February 2021, at 04:30. 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. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree.... Meet extraordinary women who dared to bring gender equality and other issues to the forefront. Constance Baker Motley (September 14, 1921 – September 28, 2005), was a key strategist of the African-American civil rights movement, lawyer, judge, state senator, and Borough President of Manhattan, New York City. In 1966 President Lyndon B. Johnson nominated her to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, making Motley the first black woman to be appointed to a federal judgeship. In response, Motley pointed to her history of impartial decisions, sometimes ruling against the plaintiff in discrimination cases. She assumed senior status on September 30, 1986. This combo of file photos from Washington show Supreme Court Associate Justice Thurgood Marshall on Oct. 24, 1967; and Constance Baker Motley, nominated to be judge of the southern district of New York, at her confirmation hearing, on April 4, 1966. Through this work that she encountered local businessman and philanthropist Clarence W. Blakeslee, who, after hearing Motley speak at a New Haven community center, offered to pay for her education. . For a description of legal…. The new scholarship program is in part named after the late Constance Baker Motley, seen here in 2004, who was the first Black woman federal judge. Motley received her Bachelor of Laws in 1946 from Columbia Law School. Even before completing law school, she joined the Legal Defense and Educational Fund of the NAACP, where she worked with Thurgood Marshall. Constance Baker Motley, Equal justice under law: an autobiography, New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 1998. 400. [10], In Belknap v. Leary, 427 F.2d 496 (2d Cir. During her time as a federal judge for the Southern District of New York, she made efforts to reach out to other African-American women in her position. [20] In Ludtke v. Kuhn, Melissa Ludtke filed a lawsuit against Bowie Kuhn, the Major League Baseball Commissioner, The American League President Leland MacPhail, and three New York City officials over the New York Yankees gendered policy forbidding female sports reports from entering the Yankees locker room.[21]. Barbara Jordan, Constance Baker Motley, Eleanor Holmes Norton and Condoleeza Rice / Photo Credit: Getty Images News 12 Black Women In Politics Who Helped Pave The Way For Vice President Kamala Harris [25], With her work on Ludtke v. Kuhn, Constance Baker Motley became a pivotal figure to Melissa Ludtke. She attended public schools, and on many occasions, she was a subject of racism dur… [10], Motley was elected on February 4, 1964, to the New York State Senate (21st district), to fill the vacancy caused by the election of James Lopez Watson to the New York City Civil Court. 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 U.S. Supreme Court, including James H. Meredith’s right to be admitted to the University of Mississippi in 1962. The tenth decision, regarding jury composition, was eventually overturned in her favor. Motley also endorsed urban renewal projects and looked to improve the neighborhoods in New York City that needed aid. Learn more about Constance Baker Motley below. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2019. Although the Supreme Courts decision in Brown was ultimately unanimous, it occurred only after a hard-fought, multi-year campaign to persuade all nine justices to overturn the separate but equal doctrine that their predecessors had endorsed i… [6] Baker Motley describes her parents' education of being equivalent "to the tenth grade in the States. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Constance Baker Motley (1921-2005) Born and raised in New Haven, Connecticut, Judge Motley was recognized by Resolution of the United States House of Representatives of the 110th Congress in 2007 for her “lifelong commitment to the advancement of … Connecticut Public Television (CPTV) honored Motley’s life and work with “Justice is a Black Woman: The Life and Work of Constance Baker Motley,” a special that aired in 2012. Before coming to the United States, Rachel worked as a seamstress and a teacher while McCullough worked as a cobbler. of the Comm. Senator Eastland was in opposition to Baker's past desegregation work including Brown v. Board of Education and Meredith v. Fair. The first African-American woman ever to argue a case before the U.S. Supreme Court, in Meredith v. Fair she won James Meredith's effort to be the first black student to attend the University of Mississippi in 1962. She also argued that a sit-in demonstration was a legal form of protest against “state enforced segregation”. She argued 12 landmark civil rights cases in front of the Supreme C… She was inspired by books concerning civil rights … Judge Motley died on September 28, 2005 in New York City of congestive heart failure. [18] She served as Chief Judge from 1982 to 1986. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. Her father Rachel Huggins and mother, McCullough Alva Baker. She graduated from New York University in 1943. [5], In October 1945, during Baker's second year at Columbia Law School, future United States Supreme Court Associate Justice Thurgood Marshall hired her as a law clerk. Decision, regarding jury composition, was honored posthumously with the greatest impact were several documentaries jury,. On 14th September 1921.She was the first African American community the most effective hindrance Women 1984! 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