List of first minority male lawyers and judges in South Carolina explained

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

Firsts in South Carolina's history

Lawyers

• First Jewish American male: Moses Myers (1793)^[1]
• First African American male: Jonathan Jasper Wright (1867)^{[2] [3]}
• First African American male to practice before the South Carolina Supreme Court: Arthur Chester Platt (1922)^{[4] [5] [6]}

State judges

• First African American male (judicial officer): Samuel B. Thompson around 1868^[7]
• First Jewish American male (South Carolina Supreme Court; Chief Justice): Franklin J. Moses Sr. in 1868^[8]
• First African American male (South Carolina Supreme Court): Jonathan Jasper Wright (1867) in 1870
• First African American male (judge): Richard E. Fields (1948)^{[9] [10]}
• First African American male (probate court): Bernard R. Fielding Sr. in 1976^[11]
• First African American male elected (probate court): Harry C. Brown (1987) in 1987^{[12] [13]}
• First African American male (South Carolina Supreme Court; since Reconstruction): Ernest A. Finney Jr. (1954) in 1985^{[14] [15]}
• First African American male (Chief Justice; South Carolina Supreme Court): Ernest A. Finney Jr. (1954) in 1994
• First Native American male (Chief Judge; South Carolina Court of Appeals): James Lockemy in 2016^[16]

Federal judges

• First African American male (U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina): Matthew J. Perry (1959) in 1979^{[17] [18]}

• First African American male president: I. S. Leevy Johnson (1968) in 1985^[19]

Firsts in local history

• Burnele Venable Powell:^[20] First Black male to serve as the Dean of the University of South Carolina School of Law (2003) [<nowiki/>[[Lexington County, South Carolina|Lexington]] and Richland Counties, South Carolina]
• Al Bradley:^[21] First African American male magistrate in Aiken County, South Carolina
• Bernard R. Fielding Sr.: First African American male probate judge in Charleston County, South Carolina (1990)
• Reuben Brewington Clark:^[22] First African American male magistrate in Clarendon County, South Carolina (1977)
• Donald J. Sampson:^{[23] [24]} First African American male lawyer in Greenville County, South Carolina
• Harry C. Brown (1987): First African American male elected as a probate judge in Jasper County, South Carolina (1987)
• Luther Battiste III:^[25] First Black male to serve as President of the Richland County Bar Association
• J.W. Johnes:^[26] First African American male to serve as a Justice of the Peace in Spartanburg, Spartanburg County, South Carolina
• Matthew J. Perry (1959): First African American male lawyer in Spartanburg, Spartanburg County, South Carolina
• Albert Smith:^[27] First Black male to serve as President of Spartanburg County Bar Association
• Alex Chatman:^[28] First African American male magistrate in Greeleyville, Williamsburg County, South Carolina

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 South Carolina

Notes and References

1. Book: Landman, Isaac . The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia ...: An Authoritative and Popular Presentation of Jews and Judaism Since the Earliest Times . Cohen . Simon . 1943 . Universal Jewish Encyclopedia, Incorporated . en.
2. Book: Fordham, Damon L.. Voices of Black South Carolina: Legend & Legacy. 2009-02-01. Arcadia Publishing. 9781625842992.
3. Web site: Wright, Jonathan J. (1840-1885) The Black Past: Remembered and Reclaimed. www.blackpast.org. 2018-01-11.
4. Book: Burke, William Lewis . All for Civil Rights: African American Lawyers in South Carolina, 1868-1968 . 2017 . University of Georgia Press . 978-0-8203-5098-1 . en.
5. Book: Burke . W. Lewis Jr. . Matthew J. Perry: The Man, His Times, and His Legacy . Gergel . Belinda F. . 2021-02-22 . University of South Carolina Press . 978-1-64336-209-0 . en.
6. Web site: State . DAWN HINSHAW The . District judge, former Spartanburg attorney Matthew Perry dies . 2022-05-16 . Spartanburg Herald Journal . en-US.
7. Book: Smith, J. Clay Jr.. Emancipation: The Making of the Black Lawyer, 1844-1944. 1999. University of Pennsylvania Press. 978-0-8122-1685-1. en.
8. Web site: Gottshall . Thomas R. . Henry Laurens and John Laurens . South Carolina Bar.
9. Web site: Congressional Record. www.congress.gov. 2018-01-11.
10. Book: Matthew J. Perry: The Man, His Times, and His Legacy. Burke. William Lewis. Gergel. Belinda. 2004. Univ of South Carolina Press. 9781570035340.
11. Web site: S.C.'s First Black Probate Judge Notes That Black History's Discrimination Continues Into Modern Times. https://web.archive.org/web/20190115023057/https://www.charlestonchronicle.net/2017/02/08/s-c-s-first-black-probate-judge-notes-that-black-historys-discrimination-continues-into-modern-times/. usurped. January 15, 2019. The Charleston Chronicle. en-US. 2019-01-14.
12. Book: First Black Probate Judge Elected in S. California. 1987-02-16. Johnson Publishing Company. en.
13. Book: Readers' Guide to Periodical Literature. Guthrie. Anna Lorraine. Tannehill. Bertha. Shimer. Neltje Marie Tannehill. 1988. H. W. Wilson Company. en.
14. News: Former S.C. Supreme Court Chief Justice Ernest Finney Jr. passes away. Shain. Andy. December 4, 2017. Post and Courier. 2018-01-29.
15. Web site: Black History Month Spotlight Series: Chief Justice Finney . 2023-11-07 . South Carolina Bar . en.
16. Web site: UNCP Trustee James Lockemy honored at U.S. Supreme Court . 2023-11-02 . The University of North Carolina at Pembroke . en.
17. Book: S.C. Courthouse is Named for 1st Black Federal Judge in South; Not Late Sen. Strom Thurmond. 2004-05-24. Johnson Publishing Company for Jet.
18. News: S.C. Legal and Civil Rights Icon Passes Away. 2011-08-01. Lexington, SC Patch. 2018-02-14.
19. Web site: Johnson, Isaac Samuel Leevy. South Carolina Encyclopedia. en-US. 2019-01-04.
20. Web site: USC hires first African-America law school dean . 2022-03-15 . WIS News 10 . en.
21. Web site: Thomas . Keith L. . May 19, 1991 . In the beginning, there was James... . 2024-04-12 . infoweb.newsbank.com.
22. Web site: Bolton . Warren . February 23, 2001 . A great man has fallen... . 2024-04-12 . infoweb.newsbank.com.
23. Web site: Donald James Sampson's Obituary on The Greenville News. The Greenville News. 2018-02-13.
24. News: Group to honor four Upstate women for their accomplishments. February 26, 1990. The Greenville News. 2018-02-13. Greenville, South Carolina. 9. Newspapers.com.
25. Web site: Luther Battiste III - University History University of South Carolina. 2021-08-04. sc.edu.
26. Web site: Wofford students tidy up Spartanburg's African-American cemetery. Montgomery. Bob. GoUpstate. en. 2020-03-13.
27. Web site: Wyatt. Dustin. Albert Smith, first Black president of Spartanburg Bar Association, celebrated for talents, helping others. 2021-08-04. Spartanburg Herald Journal. en-US.
28. Web site: November 30, 2015 . Alex Chatman . 2024-04-13 . infoweb.newsbank.com.