Who is Alberta Odell Jones?
What’s the story behind legendary legal and trailblazer Alberta Odell Jones as she vigorously faced the civil rights era of America.
Alberta Jones was a legendary attorney and trailblazer who Alberta Jones is a legendary attorney and trailblazer who became a practicing attorney during the civil rights era. She was one of the first African-American women to pass the Kentucky bar exam and be licensed to practice law. Even more notable, Alberta was the first woman of any color to serve as the city attorney for Louisville, a major city in the Commonwealth state.
Attorney & Civil Rights Activist
November 12, 1930 — August 5, 1965
Birthplace: Louisville, KY
Alberta graduated from the historical Louisville Central High School. She graduated third in her class at the Louisville Municipal College (LMC), which later merged with the University of Louisville during desegregation. Ms. Jones attended the University of Louisville Law. After her first year, she transferred to the historically black college (HBCU) Howard University’s School of Law, graduating fourth in her class there in 1958. In 1959, she returned to Louisville, KY, and opened her law practice downtown.
One of Alberta’s first clients was the famous Muhammad Ali, also a Louisville native, then known by his birth name Cassius Clay. In 1960, she was the attorney who negotiated the contract for his first fight.
Although she was not a boxer, she was a fighter for civil rights and justice. She marched in civil rights marches in Louisville and Washington, DC, and was a political advocate in the city. Alberta created the Independent Voters Association, which increased the number of Blacks who voted and participated in the political process by teaching citizens how to vote and use voting machines. Her efforts helped citizens vote out the mayor and many in the city’s administration in 1961.
In February 1965, she was appointed as prosecutor in the Louisville Domestic Relations Court. She was the first woman of any race to hold this position. Sadly, she was murdered, cutting her life and efforts early. In August of the same year, someone threw her off a bridge into the Ohio River in Louisville. While there has been speculation, rumors, and suspects, the city has never solved her murder even to this day. For this woman who sought justice for all, she and her family may never see justice served for her murder.
This month is Black History Month in the U.S.
Historically, the accomplishments of black women are omitted from mainstream history books and the educational curriculum of American children today. Many young people, and even more sadly, many adults, do not know of African American women’s significant accomplishments and contributions. Black women have forever been contributors to the building of our great nation. However, they are rarely spoken of and unknown.
And when Black History Month rolls around, the same names are spoken, including the women, such as Coretta Scott King and Rosa Parks Harriet Tubman. Their notoriety is certainly well-deserved. But so many more like those women exist, before and since they lived.
This series of articles are excerpts from the book “Real Queens Like Me: Stories of Great Black Women Who Changed the World,” a biographical compilation of stories of real black women who exist or existed in America’s history and have contributions or achievements that changed the world for the better. Let’s together ensure their legacy lives by educating and inspiring African American women and girls worldwide with true stories of great black women who changed the world.
If you know a black woman who has made significant contributions in history or your community that you think the world should know about, we want to hear from you.
Share their story with us so we can share it with the world! She may just be added to our next article or book on Real Queens and Black Women Who Changed the World. Go here to submit:
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