List of first minority male lawyers and judges in Alabama explained

This is a list of the first minority male lawyer(s) and judge(s) in Alabama. It includes the year in which the men were admitted to practice law (in parentheses). Also included are other distinctions such as the first minority men in their state to graduate from law school or become a political figure.

Firsts in Alabama's history

Lawyers

• First African American male: Moses W. Moore (1871)^{[1] [2] [3]}
• First African American male from Alabama to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court: Samuel R. Lowery (1875) in 1880
• One of Alabama's first Korean American lawyers (2008): Soo Seok Yang^[4]

State judges

• First African American male: Roderick B. Thomas in 1874^{[5] [6]}
• First African American male (circuit judge): Cain James Kennedy (1971) in 1979^[7]
• First African American male (probate court): William McKinley Branch in 1970^{[8] [9] [10]}
• First African American male (Alabama Supreme Court): Oscar W. Adams Jr. (1947) in 1980^{[11] [12]}
• First African American male (Seventeenth Judicial Circuit in Alabama): Eddie Hardaway, Jr. (1978) in 1995^[13]

Federal judges

• First African American male (U.S. federal judge): U. W. Clemon (1968) in 1980^{[14] [15] [16] [17] [18]}
• First African American male (U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Alabama): Terry F. Moorer in 2018^[19]

Assistant Attorney General

• First African American male: Myron Herbert Thompson in 1972^{[20] [21]}

United States Attorney

• First African American male: Kenyen R. Brown in 2009^[22]

Assistant United States Attorney

• First African American male (Northern District of Alabama): J. Richmond Pearson in 1967^[23]

District Attorney

• First African American male: Barrown Lankster in 1992^{[24] [25] [26] [27]}
• First African American male (President of the Alabama District Attorney's Association): Michael W. Jackson in 2021^[28]

• First African American male (President): Fred Gray Sr. in 2002^[29]

Firsts in local history

• Michael W. Jackson:^[30] First African American male to serve as the District Attorney for the Fourth Judicial Circuit in Alabama (2004)^[31] [<nowiki/>[[Bibb County, Alabama|Bibb]], Dallas, Hale, Perry and Wilcox Counties, Alabama]
• Eddie Hardaway, Jr. (1978): First African American male to serve on the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit in Alabama (1995)
• Rufus C. Huffman, Sr.:^[32] First African American male probate judge in Bullock County, Alabama (1976)
• J.L. Chestnut (1958):^{[33] [34]} First African American male lawyer in Selma, Dallas County, Alabama
• Orzell Billingsley and Peter Hall: First African American male lawyers to try a case in Dallas County, Alabama
• Jimmy Nunn:^{[35] [36]} First African American male probate judge in Dallas County, Alabama (2018)
• William McKinley Branch: First African American male elected as a probate judge in Greene County, Alabama (1970)
• Arthur Crawford:^[37] First African American male to serve as a probate judge in Hale County, Alabama
• Theo Lawson II:^{[38] [39]} First African American male to serve as the County Attorney of Jefferson County, Alabama (2016)
• Danny Carr:^[40] First African American male to serve as the District Attorney (Birmingham division) of Jefferson County, Alabama (2018)
• Oscar W. Adams Jr. (1947): First African-American male admitted to the Birmingham Bar Association [<nowiki/>[[Jefferson County, Alabama|Jefferson]] and Shelby Counties, Alabama]
• J. Mason Davis: First African American male to serve as the President of the Birmingham Bar Association (1983) [<nowiki/>[[Jefferson County, Alabama|Jefferson]] and Shelby Counties, Alabama]
• John Hulett:^[41] First African American male to serve as a probate judge in Lowndes County, Alabama
• Alfonza Menefee:^[42] First African American male probate judge in Macon County, Alabama (1988)
• Charles Swinger Conley:^{[43] [44]} First African American male judge of the Court of Common Pleas (1972)
• Thomas H. Figures:^[45] First African American male to serve as the Assistant District Attorney for Mobile County, Alabama
• Steven Reed:^[46] First African American male to serve as a probate judge in Montgomery County, Alabama (2012)
• Michael Figures, Booker Forte, Jr., and Ronald E. Jackson:^[47] First African American males to graduate from the University of Alabama School of Law (1972)
• Eric Hamilton:^[48] First African American male to serve as an Assistant District Attorney for Walker County, Alabama (2013)

See also

• List of first minority male lawyers and judges in the United States

Other topics of interest

• List of first women lawyers and judges in the United States
• List of first women lawyers and judges in Alabama

References

1. Web site: Moses Wenslydale Moore. ala-lawyers.org. 2020-03-08.
2. Web site: FROM THE ALABAMA LAWYER – Blazing the Trail: Alabama's First Black Lawyers . 2022-03-10 . Alabama State Bar . en.
3. Upon Moore being admitted to practice law before the Alabama Supreme Court in 1871
4. Web site: Harper . Brad . Lawyer Soo Seok Yang wins Chad Stewart community service award . 2024-02-10 . Montgomery Advertiser . en-US.
5. Web site: Judge Roderick B. Thomas. Alabama Lawyers Association. 2018-01-10.
6. Book: Fitts, Alston. Selma: A Bicentennial History. 2016. University of Alabama Press. 9780817319328.
7. Book: Smith, Jessie Carney. Black Firsts: 4,000 Ground-Breaking and Pioneering Historical Events. 2013. Visible Ink Press. 9781578594252.
8. Web site: Civil rights figure, first black probate judge William McKinley Branch dies in Alabama at 95. Morton. Jason. Tuscaloosa News. en. 2019-01-14.
9. Book: Gains at the Polls: Government and Politics. January 1971. Johnson Publishing Company. en.
10. Web site: Branch, William McKinley, 1918-. crdl.usg.edu. 2019-01-14.
11. J. Mark White & Kitty Rogers Brown, Oscar William Adams Jr., Encyclopedia of Alabama (December 6, 2017).
12. Web site: Black Pioneer Lawyers in Alabama—Living Legends. Johnson, Jr.. Raymond L.. May 1993. Alabama Lawyer.
13. Web site: Circuit judge sworn in. Watkins. Ed. January 12, 1995. news.google.com. 2019-01-14.
14. Web site: African American History Month - 2017. 2017-01-30. gaprobate.gov. en. 2019-01-14.
15. Book: Law and Justice: Poetic Justice. 1980-01-24. Johnson Publishing Company. en.
16. Book: Daniels, Maurice C.. Horace T. Ward: Desegregation of the University of Georgia, Civil Rights Advocacy, and Jurisprudence. 2001. Clark Atlanta University Press. 9780966855531. en.
17. Web site: Alabama's first black federal judge, U.W. Clemon, being honored by group that had opposed his nomination. Kent Faulk. July 5, 2013. AL.com.
18. Web site: On this day in Alabama history: U.W. Clemon appointed to U.S. District Court. 2019-01-10. Alabama NewsCenter. en-US. 2019-01-14.
19. Web site: 2018-08-29. Shelby praises confirmation of first ever African American judge to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Alabama. 2022-02-05. Yellowhammer News. en-US.
20. Web site: Alabama's First Black Judge Speaks in Portland Synagogue for MLK Celebration. Lewis. Portl. Clark 0615 S. W. Palatine Hill Road. www.lclark.edu. en. 2019-06-22. USA 503-768-7000. Oregon 97219.
21. Book: Congressional Record: Proceedings and Debates of the ... Congress. 1980. U.S. Government Printing Office. en.
22. Web site: In Mobile, New U.S. Attorney Emphasizes Listening Locally, Keeping What Works, Respect. Patterson. Nick. 2018-04-05. BirminghamWatch. en-US. 2020-03-10.
23. Web site: ALABAMA LAWYERS ASSOCIATION CELEBRATES THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF THE HONORABLE J. RICHMOND PEARSON. ala-lawyers.org. 2020-03-11.
24. Web site: Jackson not first black DA. 2005-01-21. The Selma Times‑Journal. 2020-03-10. 2005.
25. Web site: District Attorney Greg Griggers fends off challenge. Writer. Gilbert Cruz Staff. Tuscaloosa News. en. 2020-03-10.
26. Book: McGuire. Danielle L.. Freedom Rights: New Perspectives on the Civil Rights Movement. Dittmer. John. 2011-11-01. University Press of Kentucky. 978-0-8131-3448-2. en.
27. Lankster was elected to serve as a District Attorney in the Alabama Black Belt in 1992, which consists of 18 counties.
28. Web site: 2021-07-07 . Veteran prosecutor elected first Black president of Alabama District Attorneys Association . 2022-03-10 . al . en.
29. Web site: First black president of Alabama State Bar. African American Registry. en. 2019-01-03.
30. Web site: 2018 Michael W. Jackson '85. alumni.centre.edu. en. 2020-03-10.
31. Jackson was the second African American male elected as a District Attorney in Alabama's history.
32. Web site: Timeline of the life of Rufus C. Huffman, Sr.. Union Springs Herald. en. 2019-01-14.
33. News: Remembering Attorney, Civil Rights Champion, and Original EJI Board Member J.L. Chestnut Jr.. Equal Justice Initiative. 2017-09-23.
34. News: As the first black lawyer in Selma, Ala., J.L. Chestnut.... tribunedigital-chicagotribune. 2017-09-23.
35. Web site: Dallas Co. Probate Judge Set to Pass Torch and Retire. 2018-12-07. Alabama News. en-US. 2019-01-14.
36. Web site: From humble past to public servant, Nunn ready for new office. The Montgomery Advertiser. en. 2019-01-14.
37. Web site: 2024-01-19 . Hale Freezes Over . 2024-01-19 . WBHM 90.3 . en.
38. Web site: Theo Lawson appointed Jefferson County Attorney. 2016-11-14. al. en. 2020-03-12.
39. Web site: Meet Candidates in Tuesday's 2018 Jefferson County Commission Runoff Elections. Times. Birmingham. 2018-07-12. The Birmingham Times. en-US. 2020-03-12.
40. Web site: A son of Ensley fueled by family tragedy aims to 'do what's right' as Jefferson County DA. 2017-01-22. al. en. 2020-03-10.
41. Web site: Only on 12: Lowndes County Buries Civil Rights Hero. WSFA. en-US. 2019-01-14.
42. Web site: Menefee assumes role as first black male AAPJ president. THOMPSON. JEFF. The Tuskegee News. en. 2019-01-14.
43. Web site: Patton . Gwendolyn M. . Charles Conley Collection, Trenholm State Community College . www.trenholmstate.edu . 4 February 2019.
44. News: Hearing Is Slated Today For Weeks. The Cullman Times, June 19, 1973. 2017-09-23.
45. Web site: A drum major for justice, Thomas Henry Figures. Strunk. Taylor Peyton. 2015-03-22. al. en. 2020-03-11.
46. News: Fausset. Richard. Federal Judge Sets Hearing in Alabama on Same-Sex Marriage. 2015-02-10. The New York Times. 2020-03-16. Pérez-Peña. Richard. en-US. 0362-4331. Wolfe. Kalyn.
47. Web site: Law School Commemorates 45th Anniversary of the First African-American Law Graduates . 2022-03-16 . UA School of Law . en.
48. Web site: Birmingham defense attorney becomes first African American assistant district attorney in Walker County history. 2013-10-11. al. en. 2020-03-11.