10 Most Influential Black Lawyers and Scholars

Published in

Heritage Digest

13 min readDec 5, 2023

Historically, Black lawyers have overcome formidable barriers that profoundly impact the legal and social justice fields. Their tireless advocacy and legal prowess have redefined the practice of law and have been instrumental in advancing civil rights. This article celebrates ten of the most influential Black lawyers and their enduring legacies.

Thurgood Marshall (1908–1993)
Constance Baker Motley (1921–2005)
Charles Hamilton Houston (1895–1950)
Johnnie Cochran Jr. (1937–2005)
Derrick Albert Bell Jr. (1930–2011)
Pauli Murray (1910–1985)
Barbara Jordan (1936–1996)
Willie Gary (1947-present)
Michelle Obama (1964-present)
Bryan Stevenson (1959-present)

1. Thurgood Marshall (1908–1993)

Thurgood Marshall, born in Baltimore, Maryland, was raised by his father, a waiter, and his mother, a teacher. He frequently accompanied his father to court as a child, gaining early exposure to legal proceedings. Marshall graduated from Lincoln University and Howard University School of Law, excelling academically, mentored by Charles Hamilton Houston. His law practice in Baltimore centered on civil rights, and he joined Houston at the NAACP, leading significant legal battles against racial segregation.

Marshall’s legal career was marked by his fight against segregation, particularly in education. He brilliantly argued and won the historic Brown v. Board of Education case, abolishing the “separate but equal” doctrine. His work with the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund involved numerous landmark cases, making him a leading figure in civil rights law. His advocacy extended beyond courtrooms, influencing broader societal changes toward racial equality.

Appointed by President John F. Kennedy to the U.S. Court of Appeals and later by President Lyndon B. Johnson as Solicitor General, Marshall’s legal prowess was nationally recognized. In 1967, Johnson nominated him to the Supreme Court, making him the first African-American justice. His Supreme Court tenure was characterized by a strong liberal stance, advocating for individual rights and opposing the death penalty. Marshall retired in 1991 and passed away in 1993, leaving a legacy as a transformative figure in American law and civil rights.

2. Constance Baker Motley (1921–2005)

Constance Baker Motley, born in New Haven, Connecticut, to Caribbean immigrants, was the ninth of twelve children. Her father worked as a chef, and her mother, a community activist, was a domestic worker. Motley’s interest in civil rights was sparked early by reading the works of James Weldon Johnson and W.E.B. Du Bois, which led her toward a legal career. Despite financial challenges, she pursued higher education, graduating from NYU with a degree in Economics and later from Columbia Law School.

Motley joined the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund as a pioneering civil rights lawyer, becoming its first female attorney. She played a crucial role in landmark civil rights cases, including writing the original complaint for Brown v. Board of Education. Motley represented Martin Luther King Jr. and the Freedom Riders and successfully argued nine of ten cases before the Supreme Court. Her legal work was instrumental in desegregating Southern schools, buses, and lunch counters.

Motley’s achievements extended to the political sphere, becoming the first African-American woman in the New York State Senate and the first female Manhattan Borough President. In 1966, she broke another barrier, appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson as the first African-American female federal judge. Significant rulings, including landmark cases for women lawyers and in sports broadcasting, marked Motley’s judicial career. Her legacy as a law and civil rights trailblazer endures, influencing generations of lawyers and activists.

3. Charles Hamilton Houston (1895–1950)

Charles Hamilton Houston, born into a middle-class family in Washington D.C.’s Strivers’ section, was the son of a lawyer and a seamstress. He graduated high school at 15 and went to Amherst College, excelling in segregated schools and becoming valedictorian. His World War I military experience, witnessing racial discrimination, steered him towards law to fight for racial justice. He graduated cum laude from Harvard Law School and later studied at the University of Madrid.

Houston’s legal career was monumental in civil rights history. As dean of Howard University Law School, he transformed it into a premier institution for training black lawyers and mentoring a generation, including Thurgood Marshall. At the NAACP, he masterminded legal strategies against segregation, particularly in education, laying the groundwork for the historic Brown v. Board of Education decision. His litigation strategies and advocacy significantly advanced the fight against Jim Crow laws.

Charles Houston’s legacy is profound. He pioneered using law as a tool for social change, particularly in dismantling racial segregation. His work influenced key Supreme Court decisions and inspired and trained future civil rights lawyers. Houston’s strategies and teachings reverberated beyond his lifetime, contributing significantly to the eventual success of the Civil Rights Movement. He died at 54 in 1950, leaving an enduring impact on American legal history.

4. Johnnie Cochran Jr. (1937–2005)

Johnnie Cochran Jr., a renowned American attorney, was born in 1937 in Shreveport, Louisiana. His father was an insurance salesman, and his mother sold Avon products. The family moved to Los Angeles in 1949, where Cochran excelled in school, graduating first in his Los Angeles High School class. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in business economics from UCLA and a Juris Doctor from Loyola Law School. His early exposure to legal issues and his success in education laid the foundation for his future career in law.

Thurgood Marshall’s victory inspired Cochran’s legal career in Brown v. Board of Education. He saw law as a means to challenge injustices and make a societal impact. Starting as a deputy city attorney in Los Angeles, he soon entered private practice and took on significant cases, including police brutality and criminal cases. His early career included representing Leonard Deadwyler’s widow, a turning point highlighting racial legal issues. By the late 1970s, Cochran had become a renowned figure in the black community for his work on high-profile cases.

Cochran’s most famous case was the defense of O.J. Simpson, where his courtroom skills were on full display. He also represented celebrities like Sean Combs and Michael Jackson, as well as victims of police brutality. His legal prowess and commitment to civil rights made him a prominent and influential figure in American law. Despite criticisms for playing the “race card,” Cochran was seen as a champion for the underprivileged and a skilled attorney for high-profile clients. He passed away in 2005 from a brain tumor, leaving behind a legacy as a formidable and impactful lawyer.

5. Derrick Albert Bell Jr. (1930–2011)

Derrick Albert Bell Jr., born in 1930 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was raised in the Hill District, a working-class neighborhood. The eldest of four children, his father, Derrick Sr., was a millworker, and his mother, Ada Elizabeth, was a homemaker. Although offered a scholarship to Lincoln University, financial constraints led Bell to attend Duquesne University, where he became the first in his family to graduate. He later served as an Air Force officer, which included a year in Korea, before earning his law degree from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law in 1957, distinguishing himself as the only Black graduate in his class.

Bell’s legal career began in the U.S. Justice Department’s Honor Graduate Recruitment Program. He soon transferred to the Civil Rights Division, driven by a passion for racial justice. However, in 1959, faced with a demand to resign from the NAACP due to perceived conflicts of interest, Bell chose to leave the Justice Department, adhering to his principles. He joined the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund (LDF) in 1960, recruited by Thurgood Marshall. Bell was deeply involved in over 300 school desegregation cases in Mississippi, contributing significantly to the civil rights movement. His tenure at the LDF was marked by challenges, including being arrested for using a “whites-only” phone booth, reflecting the racial tensions of the time.

Bell’s academic career was as distinguished as his legal one. In 1971, he became the first tenured African-American law professor at Harvard Law School, following a period of teaching at the University of Southern California Law School. He pioneered the critical race theory field, critically examining the intersection of race, law, and civil rights. Bell’s tenure at Harvard was marked by his principled stands, including resigning to protest the school’s hiring practices. He spent his later years as a visiting professor at the New York University School of Law, continuing his impactful work until his death from carcinoid cancer in 2011. Bell’s legacy is profound, influencing generations of students and legal scholars through his pioneering work in civil rights and critical race theory.

6. Pauli Murray (1910–1985)

Pauli Murray, born on November 20, 1910, in Baltimore, Maryland, was brought up in Durham, North Carolina, by her maternal aunt after her mother’s early death and father’s mental illness. Her family’s mixed racial origins and diverse complexions mirrored a “United Nations in miniature.” Showing early academic promise, Murray moved to New York at 16, graduating from Hunter College in 1933. Her youth was marked by an annulled marriage and a growing awareness of racial and gender inequalities, spurring her lifelong activism and legal pursuits.

A deep commitment to civil rights and gender equality drove Murray’s career as a legal professional. After a profound experience of racial segregation on a Virginia bus in 1940, she pursued law at Howard University, being the only woman in her class and graduating top. Denied entry to Harvard for postgraduate studies due to her gender, she termed the discrimination “Jane Crow”. She earned further law degrees from UC Berkeley and Yale. Her book, “States’ Laws on Race and Color”, became an influential resource in civil rights law, earning praise from figures like Thurgood Marshall.

Murray’s legal expertise was instrumental in advancing civil rights and women’s rights. A co-founder of the National Organization for Women (NOW) and a member of the Presidential Commission on the Status of Women, she significantly influenced gender discrimination law. Her intellectual work laid the groundwork for future legal victories in gender equality, including the Supreme Court case Reed v. Reed. Murray’s professional life was a pioneering blend of advocacy, academia, and legal scholarship, leaving an indelible mark on American civil rights and feminist jurisprudence.

7. Barbara Jordan (1936–1996)

Barbara Charline Jordan, born on February 21, 1936, in Houston, Texas, grew up in a deeply religious family. Her mother, Arlyne Patten Jordan, a church teacher, and her father, Benjamin Jordan, a Baptist preacher, instilled strong values in her. As the great-granddaughter of Edward Patton, one of the last African American members of the Texas House of Representatives before disenfranchisement under Jim Crow, Jordan was inspired to pursue law. Excelling in education, she graduated from Phillis Wheatley High School with honors. She majored in political science and history at Texas Southern University, where she became a national champion debater.

Jordan’s academic prowess led her to the Boston University School of Law, where she graduated in 1959. Her early career included teaching political science at Tuskegee Institute and establishing a private law practice in Houston. Her unsuccessful campaigns for the Texas House of Representatives in 1962 and 1964 did not deter her; in 1966, she won a seat in the Texas Senate, becoming the first African-American state senator since 1883 and the first black woman in the body. Jordan’s impact was significant, sponsoring or co-sponsoring around 70 bills. She made history again in 1972 as the first Southern African-American woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.

Jordan’s national recognition soared with her eloquent, constitutional defense speech during the 1974 impeachment hearings of President Richard Nixon. Her legislative contributions included supporting the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977 and expanding the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Jordan’s role in national politics was highlighted in 1976 when she became the first African-American woman to deliver a keynote address at the Democratic National Convention. Appointed chair of the U.S. Commission on Immigration Reform in 1994, she significantly influenced immigration policy until her death on January 17, 1996, in Austin, Texas, from pneumonia complications. Jordan’s legacy is marked by numerous honors, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom and her historic burial in the Texas State Cemetery.

8. Willie Gary (1947-present)

Willie E. Gary, born on July 12, 1947, in Eastman, Georgia, grew up as one of eleven children in a large family. His parents, Turner, a sharecropper, and Mary Gary, provided a humble upbringing. Despite the challenges of his early life, including balancing education with helping on the farm, Gary was determined to pursue academic excellence. He became the first in his family to graduate from high school and further his education, demonstrating his commitment to breaking barriers early on.

Gary’s academic journey led him to Shaw University, where he earned a Bachelor’s degree in business administration in 1971 on a football scholarship. His passion for justice and equity propelled him to pursue a legal career, earning his Juris Doctor from North Carolina Central University School of Law in 1974. At 27, he and his wife Gloria established Martin County’s first Black law firm, laying the groundwork for a remarkable career in law and advocacy.

As a trial lawyer, Gary achieved significant victories, including a notable case in 1995 against Canadian businessman Raymond Loewen, resulting in a $500 million jury award for punitive damages. This case was later settled for $175 million. In 2000, he won a groundbreaking $240 million verdict against Disney. Although a $23 billion verdict against R.J. Reynolds in 2019 was overturned on appeal, Gary’s tenacity and skill as a lawyer have earned him widespread respect and recognition, including the American Bar Association’s Spirit of Excellence award in 2019. Gary’s personal life, marked by his marriage to Gloria and their four children and his ownership of two personal jets, showcases his success beyond the courtroom.

9. Michelle Obama (1964-present)

Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama, born on January 17, 1964, in Chicago, Illinois, grew up in a close-knit family environment. Her father, Fraser Robinson III, was a city water plant employee and Democratic precinct captain, and her mother, Marian Shields Robinson, worked at Spiegel’s catalog store. Michelle’s upbringing in Chicago’s South Side was deeply influenced by her family’s emphasis on education and hard work, which played a crucial role in shaping her future ambitions.

Educated at Princeton University and Harvard Law School, Obama excelled in her academic pursuits. Her early legal career began at Sidley Austin in Chicago, where she met her future husband, Barack Obama. Michelle’s professional journey continued as she worked in nonprofits and later as the associate dean of Student Services at the University of Chicago, followed by a role as the vice president for Community and External Affairs of the University of Chicago Medical Center.

Michelle Obama gained widespread recognition as the First Lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017. During her tenure, she was celebrated for her advocacy work in poverty awareness, education, nutrition, and healthy eating. Obama was a role model for women and supported American designers, becoming a fashion icon. Her contributions extended beyond her role as First Lady, as she continued to be a highly admired figure in American culture, topping Gallup’s poll as the most admired woman in America for three consecutive years as of 2020.

10. Bryan Stevenson (1959-present)

Bryan Stevenson was born on November 14, 1959, in Milton, Delaware, a rural town in the southern part of the state. His father, Howard Carlton Stevenson Sr., worked as a laboratory technician at a General Foods processing plant, and his mother, Alice Gertrude (Golden) Stevenson, was an equal opportunity officer at Dover Air Force Base. His parents instilled in him the importance of education and hard work. Stevenson’s upbringing was deeply rooted in the African Methodist Episcopal Church, where he developed a strong sense of faith and community.

Stevenson excelled academically, graduating from Cape Henlopen High School in 1978, where he was active in student government and sports. He then attended Eastern University in Pennsylvania, majoring in philosophy. At Eastern, Stevenson directed the gospel choir, demonstrating his leadership and oratory skills. He continued his education at Harvard Law School, earning a J.D. and an M.A. in Public Policy from the Kennedy School of Government. His time at Harvard, particularly his work with the Southern Center for Human Rights, solidified his commitment to social justice and advocacy for marginalized communities.

As a lawyer and social justice activist, Stevenson has significantly contributed to legal advocacy, particularly in challenging biases against the poor and minorities in the criminal justice system. He founded the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) in Montgomery, Alabama, focusing on defending those on death row and fighting for children's rights in the criminal justice system. His work led to landmark U.S. Supreme Court decisions banning life imprisonment without parole for children. Stevenson’s memoir, “Just Mercy,” highlights his dedication to justice and redemption, and his efforts led to the establishment of the National Memorial for Peace and Justice, honoring African-American victims of lynching. As of 2023, he continues to lead EJI and advocate for criminal justice reform.