Motley, Constance Baker

▪ 2006

      American lawyer, jurist, and civil rights activist (b. Sept. 14, 1921, New Haven, Conn.—d. Sept. 28, 2005, New York, N.Y.), argued 10 civil rights cases before the U.S. Supreme Court and was the first African American woman to be made a federal judge. While a teenager, Motley became interested in civil rights after she was turned away from a public beach because she was black. Motley was the 9th of 12 children born to parents with blue-collar jobs. With financial help, however, from philanthropist Clarence Blakeslee, who recognized her intelligence and potential, she entered New York University and graduated in 1943. She attended Columbia University Law School, New York City, and was working with Thurgood Marshall and the Legal Defense Fund of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People before she passed the bar. Motley was a member of Marshall's team that won the landmark 1954 case Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, which declared racial segregation unconstitutional. She represented James Meredith in his effort in 1962 to gain admission to the University of Mississippi. Motley also worked to integrate universities in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina. She successfully defeated segregation practices in Memphis, Tenn., and Birmingham, Ala. She served (1964–65) as a New York state senator and as borough president of Manhattan (1965–66). Motley was appointed in 1966 to a federal judgeship at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, and she was made chief judge of the court in 1982 and senior judge in 1986.

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▪ American lawyer and jurist

née  Constance Baker 

born September 14, 1921, New Haven, Connecticut, U.S.

died September 28, 2005, New York, New York

      American lawyer and jurist, an effective legal advocate in the civil rights movement and the first African American woman to become a federal judge.

      Constance Baker's father was a chef for Skull and Bones, an exclusive social club at Yale College in New Haven, Connecticut. 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. 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. She graduated from New York University in 1943. Three years later, after earning a law degree from Columbia University in New York City, she married Joel Wilson Motley, a real estate and insurance broker.

      Even before completing law school, she joined the Legal Defense and Educational Fund of the NAACP, where she worked with Thurgood Marshall (Marshall, Thurgood). Over the 20-year period during which she served as a staff member and associate counsel, she won nine civil rights victories in cases she argued before the U.S. Supreme Court, including James H. Meredith (Meredith, James)'s right to be admitted to the University of Mississippi in 1962. 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. While working in that capacity, Motley developed a plan to revitalize the inner city and to improve housing and inner-city schools. In 1966 President Lyndon B. Johnson (Johnson, Lyndon B.) nominated her to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, making Motley the first black woman to be appointed to a federal judgeship. Although opposed by southern conservatives in the Senate, she was eventually confirmed and later became chief judge (1982) and senior judge (1986), serving in the latter post until her death. In addition to numerous awards and honorary degrees recognizing her contributions to civil rights and the legal profession, Motley was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame in 1993. Her autobiography, Equal Justice Under Law, was published in 1998.

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