She fought to have the charges dropped due to a complete lack of evidence against the reverends. . Motley ruled in favor of the defendant, rejecting the plaintiffs' claim of sex discrimination and going against her former advocacy for tenants during her time in the New York State Senate. [11], In 1950, she wrote the original complaint in the case of Brown v. Board of Education. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2019. Connecticut Public Television (CPTV) honored Motley’s life and work with “Justice is a Black Woman: The Life and Work of Constance Baker Motley,” a special that aired in 2012. [10] Despite opposition, she was confirmed by the United States Senate on August 30, 1966, and received her commission on August 30, 1966, becoming the first African American female federal judge. Judge Motley (September 14, 1921-September 28, 2005) was an African American civil rights activist, lawyer, judge, and state senator. As Motley had a distinguished career in civil rights, the senators only thought it fitting to award her. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. Updates? The law is treated in a number of articles. Constance Baker Motley (September 14, 1921 – September 28, 2005), was a key strategists of the African-American civil rights movement, lawyer, judge, state senator, and Borough President of Manhattan, New York City. [24] During the early twenty-first century, Motley became a part of the Just The Beginning Foundation, a foundation dedicated to preserving African American judges who improve the African American community through their work. Her interest in civil rights led her to join the local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) after she was denied admission to a public beach and skating rink. Motley also endorsed urban renewal projects and looked to improve the neighborhoods in New York City that needed aid. & Harrow, S. (2011). In 2011, She was honored posthumously with the Ford Freedom Award for her work to improve the African American community. Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Constance Baker’s father was a chef for Skull and Bones, an exclusive social club at Yale College in New Haven, Connecticut. The LDF chose Martin Luther King Day to announce the Marshall-Motley Scholars Program, named for the Supreme Court justice and for Constance Baker Motley, who was an LDF attorney just a few years out of Columbia University Law School when she wrote the initial complaint that led to the court's Brown v.Board of Education ruling outlawing racial segregation … She also argued that a sit-in demonstration was a legal form of protest against “state enforced segregation”. 1978)", "CANDACE AWARD RECIPIENTS 1982-1990, Page 3", "Constance Motley Dies; Rights Lawyer, Judge", "Constance Baker Motley: Judiciary's Unsung Rights Hero", "We Stood on Their Shoulders: Are they strong enough for us now? She was otherwise a key legal strategist in the civil rights movement, helping to desegregate Southern schools, buses, and lunch counters. But from the late 1940s through the early 1960s, Motley played a pivotal role in the fight to end racial segregation, putting her own safety at risk in one racial powder keg after another. $30.00 (cloth)", "Constance Baker Motley, 84, Civil Rights Trailblazer, Lawmaker and Judge, Dies", "Collection: Constance Baker Motley papers | Smith College Finding Aids", "Identity Matters: The Case of Judge Constance Baker Motley", "Title IX: 40 Years and Counting: Melissa Ludtke speaks about Ludtke/Time Inc. vs. Kuhn and MLB", "Pride and Prejudice: Constance Baker Motley b. University of Virginia School of Law community members recognize trailblazing African American legal heroes. Senator Kamala Harris of California", Constance Baker Motley, Civil Rights Trailblazer, Dies at 84, Legendary Civil Rights Lawyer Constance Baker Motley Dies at 84, Constance Baker Motley's oral history video excerpts, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Constance_Baker_Motley&oldid=1007641561, African-American state legislators in New York (state), American people of Saint Kitts and Nevis descent, Judges of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, United States district court judges appointed by Lyndon B. Johnson, Women state legislators in New York (state), Articles with imported Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 text, Short description is different from Wikidata, Wikipedia articles with SNAC-ID identifiers, Wikipedia articles with WORLDCATID identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Ahmed, Siraj. They were married until her death of congestive heart failure on September 28, 2005, fourteen days after her 84th birthday, at NYU Downtown Hospital in New York City. of the Comm. This combo of file photos from Washington show Supreme Court Associate Justice Thurgood Marshall on Oct. 24, 1967; and Constance Baker Motley, nominated to be judge of the southern district of New York, at her confirmation hearing, on April 4, 1966. Hines, C.D., Hines, C.W. The new scholarship program is in part named after the late Constance Baker Motley, seen here in 2004, who was the first Black woman federal judge. [10], In Belknap v. Leary, 427 F.2d 496 (2d Cir. By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. . Judge Constance Baker Motley in her chambers, circa 1990. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. In 1964, Motley was elected to the New York State Senate and devoted much of her time to advocated for housing equality for majority-Black and Latinx, low-income tenants. Upon hearing of the founding of the Equal Justice Society, Judge Motley stated, “Now I can relax.” In her fifty-plus years as a jurist, Motley had a major impact on ending racial discrimination. Her mother worked as a domestic worker and fathers a chef for Yale University. [S]he is a woman, with great humanitarian instinct, but I have never seen it to disturb her judgment objectively and on questions of law. [25], With her work on Ludtke v. Kuhn, Constance Baker Motley became a pivotal figure to Melissa Ludtke. For a description of legal…. [5], In October 1945, during Baker's second year at Columbia Law School, future United States Supreme Court Associate Justice Thurgood Marshall hired her as a law clerk. A brilliant lawyer and distinguished federal judge for over forty years, Constance Baker Motley (1921-2005) quietly helped change … She argued 12 landmark civil rights cases in front of the Supreme C… Before coming to the United States, Rachel worked as a seamstress and a teacher while McCullough worked as a cobbler. Her parents, Rachel Huggins and McCullough Alva Baker,[5] were immigrants from the Caribbean Island Nevis. [26], Vice President Kamala Harris explicitly cites Constance Baker Motley's influence on her own political and law career on her campaign page. [10], Motley handed down a breakthrough decision for women in sports broadcasting in 1978, when she ruled that a female reporter must be allowed into a Major League Baseballlocker room. Motley was successful in nine of the ten cases she argued before the Supreme Court. [9], With his financial help, she started college at Fisk University, a historically black college in Nashville, Tennessee, but later returned north to attend New York University. Constance Bakers was born in New Haven on 14th September 1921.She was the 9th born child in a family of 12 children. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Through this work that she encountered local businessman and philanthropist Clarence W. Blakeslee, who, after hearing Motley speak at a New Haven community center, offered to pay for her education. Her accomplishments are plentiful and she believed her presence as a judge made a difference. Her autobiography, Equal Justice Under Law, was published in 1998. Pp. 1921", "Motley, Constance Baker - Federal Judicial Center", "Blank v. Sullivan & Cromwell - Case Brief for Law Students | Casebriefs", "Ludtke v. Kuhn, 461 F. Supp. Though she had already formed a desire to practice law, Motley lacked the means to attend college, and instead went to work for the National Youth Administration. Constance Baker Motley (1921-2005) Born and raised in New Haven, Connecticut, Judge Motley was recognized by Resolution of the United States House of Representatives of the 110th Congress in 2007 for her “lifelong commitment to the advancement of … DuBois, in her Sunday School. The tenth decision, regarding jury composition, was eventually overturned in her favor. During her time as a federal judge for the Southern District of New York, she made efforts to reach out to other African-American women in her position. She obtained a role with the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund before entering law school as a staff attorney and continued her work with the organization for more than twenty years. From 1964 to 1965 Motley served a full term in New York state’s Senate, and in 1965 she became the first woman to serve as a city borough president. Ludtke published an article praising the work that Motley accomplished throughout her life despite the discrimination in 2018. 1 1 Nomination of Constance Baker Motley to Be United States District Court Judge for the Southern District, New York: Hearing Before the Subcomm. Enforcement of the body of rules is through a controlling authority. Both of her parents were immigrants of the Nevis. The first African-American woman ever to argue a case before the U.S. Supreme Court, in Meredith v. Fair she won James Meredith's effort to be the first black student to attend the University of Mississippi in 1962. [25] One of the women she reached out to was Judge Ann Thompson who received a personal note from Motley on the day she was appointed to be a judge for the District of New Jersey. In 1939, she graduated with honors from Hillhouse High School. [20] In Ludtke v. Kuhn, Melissa Ludtke filed a lawsuit against Bowie Kuhn, the Major League Baseball Commissioner, The American League President Leland MacPhail, and three New York City officials over the New York Yankees gendered policy forbidding female sports reports from entering the Yankees locker room.[21]. Mrs. Motley’s reputation has always been excellent . Constance Baker Motley was born on September 14, 1921 in New Haven, Connecticut.. She was the ninth child in a family of 12 children. She was a law clerk to Thurgood Marshall, aiding him in the case Brown v. Board of Education. Learn more about Constance Baker Motley below. Foremost are electoral systems in different parts of the world which pose the most effective hindrance. “The Marshall-Motley Scholars Program will not only honor the transformative civil rights legacy of Justice Thurgood Marshall and Judge Constance Baker Motley, but … Ring in the new year with a Britannica Membership, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Constance-Baker-Motley, National Visionary Leadership Project - Biography of Constance Baker Motley, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. She took her seat in the 174th New York State Legislature, was re-elected in November 1964 to the 175th New York State Legislature, and resigned her seat when she was chosen on February 23, 1965, as Manhattan Borough President—-the first woman in that position. Motley received her Bachelor of Laws in 1946 from Columbia Law School. A documentary short, The Trials of Constance Baker Motley, premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 19, 2015.[28]. Constance Baker Motley, Equal justice under law: an autobiography, New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 1998. They broke color barriers to make history in politics, academics, aviation, entertainment and more. At NYU, she obtained her Bachelor of Arts degree in 1943. ", "My Story | U.S. Equality: An American Dilemma, 1866–1896. Her service terminated on September 28, 2005, due to her death in New York City. Telford Taylor, Constance Baker Motley, and James K. Feibleman, "Judge Constance Baker Motley: A Life in Pursuit of Justice", obituary notice in, Dale Megan Healey, "Constance Baker Motley Is the Civil Rights Movement's Unsung Heroine,", This page was last edited on 19 February 2021, at 04:30. She also continued her involvement in community activities. Even before completing law school, she joined the Legal Defense and Educational Fund of the NAACP, where she worked with Thurgood Marshall. On that day, the Supreme Court declared the doctrine of separate but equal unconstitutional and handed LDF the most celebrated victory in its storied history. Among those with the greatest impact were several documentaries. May 17, 1954 marks a defining moment in the history of the United States. The new scholarship program is in part named after the late Constance Baker Motley, seen here in 2004, who was the first Black woman federal judge. She was the first African American woman to argue a case before the Supreme Court, and the first to serve as a federal judge. Although the Supreme Courts decision in Brown was ultimately unanimous, it occurred only after a hard-fought, multi-year campaign to persuade all nine justices to overturn the separate but equal doctrine that their predecessors had endorsed i… Constance Baker Motley’s efforts in combating racial discrimination lent itself to memorialization in variety of different forms. 1970)., another highly-publicized case, Judge Motley admonished the New York City police for not providing Vietnam war protesters with adequate protection against violence in the streets. Unable to afford a college education despite her academic talent, she so impressed wealthy white contractor and philanthropist Clarence Blakeslee that he paid for her education. Corrections? 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