HUSL Today Salutes

Constance Baker Motley

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Constance Baker Motley was born on September 14, 1921in New Haven, Connecticut. She initially attended Fisk University, a historically black college in Tennessee, before deciding to move to an integrated university. Motley graduated from New York University in 1943, then received her law degree from Columbia Law School in 1946. Her legal career began as a law clerk in the fledgling NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund (LDF), where she worked with Thurgood Marshall, Jack Greenberg, and others. The LDF's first female attorney, she became Associate Counsel to the LDF, making her the NAACP's lead trial attorney.

In 1950 she wrote the original complaint in the case of Brown v. Board of Education. The first African-American woman ever to argue a case before the U.S. Supreme Court, in Meredith v. Fair she successfully won James Meredith's effort to be the first black student to attend the University of Mississippi. Motley was successful in nine of the ten cases she argued before the Supreme Court. The tenth decision, regarding jury composition, was eventually overturned in her favor. She played a pivotal role in the civil rights movement, helping to desegregate Southern schools, buses, and lunch counters.

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In 1964, Motley became the first African American woman elected to the New York State Senate. In 1965, she was chosen Manhattan Borough President—the first woman in that position. In 1966, President Lyndon Johnson named her a federal court judge—the first African American woman so named—where she continued (including a term as chief judge) until her death. In 1988 she wrote her autobiography, Equal Justice Under Law: The Life of a Pioneer for Black Civil Rights and Women's Rights.

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In 1993, she was inducted into National Women's Hall of Fame. In 2001, President Bill Clinton awarded her the Presidential Citizens Medal. The NAACP awarded her the Spingarn Medal, the organization's highest honor, in 2003.

At the time of her death on September 28, 2005, she was a district judge for the United States District Court Southern District of New York. Motley was a prominent honorary member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.

HUSL Today Salutes Constance Baker Motley!!!