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Quick Facts
- NAME: Constance Baker Motley
- OCCUPATION: Civil Rights Activist, Lawyer, Judge, Government Official
- BIRTH DATE: September 14, 1921
- DEATH DATE: September 28, 2005
- EDUCATION: New York University, Columbia Law School (Columbia University), Fisk University
- PLACE OF BIRTH: New Haven, Connecticut
- PLACE OF DEATH: New York, New York
Best Known For
Constance Baker Motley was a legal advocate in the Civil Rights Movement. She became the first female African-American federal judge in 1966.
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Play NowConstance Baker Motley . (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 12:12, Jun 20, 2013, from http://www.biography.com/people/constance-baker-motley-9416520.
Constance Baker Motley . [Internet]. 2013. The Biography Channel website. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/constance-baker-motley-9416520 [Accessed 20 Jun 2013].
"Constance Baker Motley." 2013. The Biography Channel website. Jun 20 2013, 12:12 http://www.biography.com/people/constance-baker-motley-9416520.
"Constance Baker Motley," The Biography Channel website, 2013, http://www.biography.com/people/constance-baker-motley-9416520 [accessed Jun 20, 2013].
"Constance Baker Motley," The Biography Channel website, http://www.biography.com/people/constance-baker-motley-9416520 (accessed Jun 20, 2013).
Constance Baker Motley [Internet]. The Biography Channel website; 2013 [cited 2013 Jun 20] Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/constance-baker-motley-9416520.
Constance Baker Motley , http://www.biography.com/people/constance-baker-motley-9416520 (last visited Jun 20, 2013).
Constance Baker Motley . The Biography Channel website. 2013. Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/constance-baker-motley-9416520. Accessed Jun 20, 2013.
Synopsis
Federal Judge Constance Baker Motley was born in Connecticut in 1921. She later joined the Legal Defense and Educational Fund of the NAACP and worked with Thurgood Marshall. Motley won notable civil rights victories in the U.S. Supreme Court, represented Martin Luther King Jr., served in the New York State Senate, was a city borough president and, in 1966,
Quotes
"Something which we think is impossible now is not impossible in another decade."
became the first black woman to be appointed to a federal judgeship. She died on September 28, 2005.
Early Life
Constance Baker Motley was born on September 14, 1921, in New Haven, Connecticut. One of nine children born to emigrants from the West Indies, Motley's parents came from the Caribbean Island, Nevis. Her mother, Rachel Baker, founded the New Haven National Association for the Advancement of Colored People; her father, Willoughby Alva Baker, was a chef for student organizations at Yale University.
Motley would later describe herself as an ambitious student. At age 15, after reading a book in which Abraham Lincoln said the most difficult occupation was the legal profession, she decided that she wanted to pursue legal studies. Additionally, the teenager was drawn into the civil rights campaign after being banned from a public beach for being an African American. In high school, Motley was motivated to become president of the local NAACP youth council.
Legal Career Beginnings
Motley followed through with legal aspirations seeded in her youth. She was able to attend Fisk University with the financial support of Clarence W. Blakeslee, a white businessman and philanthropist impressed by one of her speeches. But the college coed later transferred to New York University, where she earned her economics degree in 1943. Motley went on to earn her law degree from Columbia Law School.
In 1945, the young graduate became a law clerk for Thurgood Marshall. She then worked for the NAACP's Legal Defense and Educational Fund, establishing herself as a major player in the civil rights fight. In fact, she helped draft the complaint in 1950 for the Brown v. Board of Education landmark suit. In 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of Motley and her fellow lawyers. In a unanimous decision, the court declared that the separate schooling for black and white students was unconstitutional.
Other important successes followed for Motley. She represented multiple students, "Freedom Fighters" and the legendary Martin Luther King Jr. so that King could march in Albany, Georgia. Motley won nine of 10 civil rights cases that she argued before the Supreme Court.
Journey to Judgeship
In 1964, Motley's passion turned from law to politics. That year, she became the first black woman to be elected to the New York State Senate. One year later, she became the first female president of the borough of Manhattan—in this role, she focused on the revitalization of Harlem and East Harlem, as well as of other underprivileged areas of the city.
But the pinnacle of Motley's career was just around the corner. In 1966, she became the first black woman to serve as a federal judge; following the encouragement of New York Democratic Senator Robert F. Kennedy and Senator Jacob K. Javits, President Johnson appointed Motley to the federal bench of the Southern District of New York.
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