Franklin D. Burgess’s remarkable life as a star basketball player at Gonzaga University and a Federal Judge in Western Washington earned him the description “a legend on two courts.” Franklin Burgess was born on March 9, 1935 in Eudora, Arkansas. Raised with seven siblings, he … Read MoreFranklin D. Burgess (1935-2010)
Alcee Lamar Hastings, the son of Julius C. and Mildred L. Hastings, was born on September 5, 1936 in Altamonte Springs, Florida. His parents were domestic servants who eventually left Florida to take jobs to pay for his education. Hastings remained in the state, living … Read MoreAlcee L. Hastings (1936-2021)
Lawyer, judge and businessman Samuel Riley Pierce Jr., was the first African American partner in a major New York law firm, the first African American member of a Fortune 500 board, and one of the first African Americans to argue a case before the U.S. … Read MoreSamuel R. Pierce, Jr. (1922-2000)
Eric H. Holder, Jr., U.S. Attorney General since 2009, was born on January 21, 1951 in the Bronx, New York to parents of Barbadian descent, Eric, a real estate agent and Miriam Holder, a telephone operator. Holder was raised in East Elmhurst, Queens, a community … Read MoreEric H. Holder (1951- )
U.S. Appeals Court Judge Damon Jerome Keith, the son of Perry A. and Annie L. (Williams) Keith, was born in Detroit, Michigan on July 4, 1922. He earned a B.S. degree at West Virginia State College in 1943, an L.L.B. from Howard University in 1949, … Read MoreDamon Jerome Keith (1922-2019)
Tacoma, Washington labor leader Ernest Charles Tanner (Ernie) was born in Indianapolis, Indiana on June 5, 1889. His father was a trapeze performer, and his mother a nurse. Moving to Tacoma with his family in 1900, Ernie Tanner attended Stadium High School where he emerged … Read MoreErnest C. Tanner (1889-1956)
Robert Herberton Terrell, the first African American judge in Washington, D.C., was born in Charlottesville, Virginia on November 27, 1857 to Harris and Louisa Ann Terrell. The Terrells, an upper-middle class American family, sent their son to public schools in the District of Columbia and … Read MoreRobert H. Terrell (1857-1925)
Lionel Wilson, lawyer, judge, and politician, was born in New Orleans, Louisiana on March 4, 1915 to Jules and Louise Wilson. In 1918 the family moved to Oakland, California, where his parents believed a smaller and less-noticeable black community would afford them greater freedoms and … Read MoreLionel Wilson (1915-1998)
Robert L. Carter, the youngest child in a family of eight children, was born in Careyville, Florida in 1917. His family moved north to Newark, New Jersey shortly after his birth. Carter’s father died soon after arriving in Newark and his mother supported eight children … Read MoreRobert L. Carter (1917-2012)
Jack Tanner was born in Tacoma, Washington in 1919. His father, Ernie Tanner, was a respected local leader in the Tacoma local of the International Longshoremen’s Union, an organization that Jack Tanner eventually joined when he worked on the city’s docks. Before joining the union, … Read MoreJack Tanner (1919-2006)
