List of first minority male lawyers and judges in Tennessee explained

This is a list of the first minority male lawyer(s) and judge(s) in Tennessee. 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 Tennessee's history

Lawyers

• First African American male: Horatio Nelson Rankin (1868)^[1]
• First African American male to argue a case before the Tennessee Supreme Court: William F. Yardley (1872) in 1883^[2]

State judges

• First Jewish American male (upon his brief appointment to the Supreme Court of Tennessee): Leopold Lehman in 1892^[3]
• First African American male (since Reconstruction): Benjamin Hooks (1948) in 1965^{[4] [5] [6] [7]}
• First African American male (General Sessions Court): A. A. Birch Jr. (1956) in 1969^{[8] [9]}
• First African American male (city court): S.A. Wilbun in 1973^[10] (1973)
• First African American male (circuit court) S.A. Wilbun in 1978 (1978)
• First African American male (criminal court): A. A. Birch Jr. (1956) in 1978^[11]
• First African American male (Tennessee Supreme Court): George H. Brown in 1980^{[12] [13]}
• First African American male (Chief Justice; Tennessee Supreme Court): A. A. Birch Jr. (1956) in 1994
• First African American male (Tennessee Court of Appeals): Richard Dinkins in 2008^[14]
• First Hispanic American male (trial court judge): Hector Sanchez in 2022^[15]

Federal judges

• First African American male (U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee): Odell Horton (1956) in 1980^[16]
• First African American male (United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee): Curtis L. Collier in 1995
• First African American male (U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee): William Joseph Haynes Jr. (1973) in 1999^[17]
• First Greek American male (Judge and Chief Judge): United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee): Thomas A. Varlan in 2003 and 2012 respectively^[18]
• First African American male from Tennessee (United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit): Andre Mathis in 2022^[19]

Assistant United States Attorney

• First African American male: Odell Horton (1956)

Assistant District Attorney

• First African American males (since Reconstruction): Arthur T. Bennett and A. A. Birch Jr. (1956) respectively around 1965-1966^[20]

Public Defender

• First African American male: Benjamin Hooks (1948)

Faculty

• First African American male law professor: Joseph H. Dismukes in 1883^[21]

Firsts in local history

• Prince Albert Ewing:^{[22] [23] [24]} First African American male lawyer in Nashville, Davidson County, Tennessee
• A. A. Birch Jr. (1956): First African American male to serve as a prosecutor and judge in Davidson County, Tennessee
• Martesha L. Johnson (2018) ^[25] First African American to serve as a Chief Public Defender for Metro Nashville, Davidson County and second woman.
• Rheubin Taylor:^[26] First African American male to serve as the County Attorney for Hamilton County, Tennessee (1994)
• Gerald Webb:^[27] First African American male judge in Hamilton County, Tennessee (2019)
• William Francis Yardley (1872):^[28] First African American male lawyer in Knoxville, Knox County, Tennessee
• Charles E. Bush:^[29] First African American male judge in Montgomery County, Tennessee (1995)
• General Quarles Boyd:^[30] First African American male lawyer in Clarksville, Montgomery County, Tennessee
• John McClellan Sr.:^[31] First African American male to serve as the Justice of the Peace in Putnam County, Tennessee (1972)
• Thomas Frank Cassels: First African American male to serve as the Attorney General Pro Tem of Shelby County Criminal Court (c. 1880s)
• Josiah T. Settle (1875): First African American male to serve as a prosecutor in Shelby County, Tennessee
• Ural B. Adams: First African American male to serve as the Public Defender of Shelby County, Tennessee (1979)
• Floyd Peete: First African American male to serve as the Chancellor of Shelby County Chancery Court (1990)
• Tarik Sugarmon:^[32] First African American male to serve as a juvenile court judge in Shelby County, Tennessee (2022)
• S.A. Wilbun: First African American male to serve as the Assistant City Attorney in Memphis, Tennessee (1964) [<nowiki/>[[Shelby County, Tennessee]]]
• John George Morris:^[33] First Greek American lawyer in Memphis, Tennessee [<nowiki/>[[Shelby County, Tennessee]]]
• Joe Brown:^[34] First African American male prosecutor in Memphis, Tennessee [<nowiki/>[[Shelby County, Tennessee]]]

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 Tennessee

Notes and References

1. Web site: History and Milestones Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts . 2024-06-08 . www.tncourts.gov.
2. Web site: Yardley, William Francis (1844-1924) The Black Past: Remembered and Reclaimed. www.blackpast.org. 2017-10-26.
3. Web site: Strauch . Irving . 1992 . Jewish Judges from Memphis . Jewish Historical Society of Memphis and the Mid-South.
4. News: Benjamin Hooks. Brock. Roslyn M.. 2010-05-03. Time. 2018-01-11. 0040-781X.
5. Book: The Crisis . 2010 . The Crisis Publishing Company, Inc..
6. Web site: Milestones. benfjones.org. 2018-01-12.
7. Book: The Journal of the Constitutional Convention . 1977 . The Convention . en.
8. News: Justice A.A. Birch dies at age 78 . 2018-01-12.
9. Book: Ely . James W. . A History of the Tennessee Supreme Court . Brown (Jr.) . Theodore . Huebner . Timothy S. . Brown . R. Ben . Thompson . Ruth Anne . Vile . John R. . Pierce . Carl A. . 2002 . Univ. of Tennessee Press . 978-1-57233-178-5 . en.
10. Web site: Milestones « Ben F. Jones Chapter of the National Bar Association . 2020-03-05 . benfjones.com.
11. Upon Birch's appointment as a Criminal Court Judge for the Twentieth District (Davidson County) in 1978
12. Book: Ely . James W. . A History of the Tennessee Supreme Court . (Jr.) . Theodore Brown . 2002 . Univ. of Tennessee Press . 9781572331785.
13. Book: Sabato, Larry . Midterm Madness: The Elections of 2002 . 2003 . Rowman & Littlefield . 9780742526860.
14. Web site: Gainey . Blaise . 2023-10-02 . Tennessee Judge Richard Dinkins, who paved the way for desegregating Nashville schools, has died . 2023-10-04 . WPLN News . en-US.
15. Web site: Mason . Richard . Judge Hector Sanchez becomes first Hispanic trial court judge in Tennessee . 2022-10-21 . WVLT . en.
16. News: Odell Horton, 77; First Modern Black Federal Judge in Tennessee. Staff. Times. 2006-02-24. Los Angeles Times. 2018-01-12. Reports. Wire. 0458-3035.
17. News: Judge 'Joe' Haynes Jr. plans to take a step back. The Tennessean. 2018-01-19.
18. Web site: Varlan Sworn in as Eastern District's Chief Federal Judge - Articles . 2023-12-18 . www.tba.org.
19. Web site: Here's something you don't see every day: A Republican gave a Joe Biden judicial nominee the one vote he needed to pass the Senate. . 2024-02-22 . www.politico.com . en.
20. Web site: Judge Arthur T. Bennett honored for his service to the state of Tennessee. localmemphis.com. en-US. 2020-03-05.
21. Web site: deGregory . Crystal A. . May 2011 . RAISING A NONVIOLENT ARMY: FOUR NASHVILLE BLACK COLLEGES AND THE CENTURY-LONG STRUGGLE FOR CIVIL RIGHTS, 1830s-1930s . Graduate School of Vanderbilt University.
22. Book: King, Lovalerie. A Student's Guide to African American Literature, 1760 to the Present. 2003. Peter Lang. 9780820455211.
23. News: No Story Untold - Parthenon Publishing. 2016-12-05. Parthenon Publishing. 2018-02-14.
24. Web site: Classmate Announcements - Vanderbilt Lawyer (Volume 37, Number 1). law.vanderbilt.edu. 2018-02-14.
25. Web site: Martesha L. Johnson, Chief Public Defender – Public Defender of Metropolitan Nashville & Davidson County. 2022-01-28. publicdefender.nashville.gov.
26. Web site: Race relations in Chattanooga. timesfreepress.com. 2020-03-12.
27. Web site: Gerald Webb Sworn In As The First African American Judge For Hamilton County, Tennessee, Courts. Essence. en-US. 2019-07-17.
28. Book: Smith, Jessie Carney. Black Firsts: 4,000 Ground-Breaking and Pioneering Historical Events. 2012-12-01. Visible Ink Press. 9781578594245.
29. News: . Clark . Alexis . Meet Montgomery County's first Black judge . The Leaf Chronicle . 22 February 2021 . A.1 .
30. News: Karen Willis county's first black female assistant DA. October 16, 2012. The Leaf-Chronicle. 2018-02-14. Clarksville, Tennessee. E4. Newspapers.com.
31. Web site: Contributors to progress honored at IMPACT banquet. Trotter. Megan. Herald Citizen. en. 2020-03-13.
32. Web site: Hawkins . Sydney . Shelby County elects its first Black juvenile court judge . 2022-08-12 . Action News 5 . en.
33. Web site: George Morris Obituary (1941 - 2018) - Charleston, SC - Charleston Post & Courier . 2023-12-19 . Legacy.com.
34. News: Moore. Scott. 1998-08-30. JOE BROWN: JUDGE FOR YOURSELF. en-US. Washington Post. 2022-02-15. 0190-8286.