Raising the Bar: Pioneers in the Legal Profession
Black History Month (February)
Constance Baker Motley
Constance Baker Motley’s sense of justice was stirred early in her life and motivated her throughout her impressive legal career. Her success as a civil rights lawyer, a New York state senator, and a federal judge has inspired many other women to follow in her footsteps.
Born in New Haven, Connecticut on September 14, 1921, Constance Baker joined the NAACP while still in her teens after being denied admission to a local skating rink and a public beach. She was determined to become a lawyer, even though her family could not afford to send her to college. After hearing her speak at a local youth civic league, a wealthy Connecticut business man offered to pay her way through college. She attended Fisk University in Nashville before transferring to New York University, where she graduated in 1943 with a degree in economics. In 1946, she graduated from Columbia University School of Law and married Joel Wilson Motley, a real estate broker.
Soon after being admitted to the bar, Constance Baker Motley launched her career by joining the NAACP Legal Defense Fund staff. Over the next 20 years, her exemplary courtroom skills would help her win 90% of the civil rights cases she argued. The first woman to argue cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, she secured the right for James H. Meredith to be admitted to the University of Mississippi and won the case that led to integration of public parks in Memphis.
Her list of accomplishments includes a number of firsts. In 1964, she became the first African-American female senator in New York state. In 1966, she was the first African-American woman appointed to the federal bench. In 1986, she was appointed senior judge for the Southern District of New York, the largest federal trial court in the country.
Judge Motley’s achievements have led the way for other women, such as Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sandra Day O’Connor, to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court. Her optimistic spirit and vision are reflected in her quote:
“Something which we think is impossible now, is not impossible in another decade.”
