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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 05:35, May 22, 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 22 May 2013].
"Constance Baker Motley." 2013. The Biography Channel website. May 22 2013, 05:35 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 May 22, 2013].
"Constance Baker Motley," The Biography Channel website, http://www.biography.com/people/constance-baker-motley-9416520 (accessed May 22, 2013).
Constance Baker Motley [Internet]. The Biography Channel website; 2013 [cited 2013 May 22] 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 May 22, 2013).
Constance Baker Motley . The Biography Channel website. 2013. Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/constance-baker-motley-9416520. Accessed May 22, 2013.
During her time as a judge, Motley oversaw many civil rights cases. One case that received notoriety was her ruling in 1978 to allow a female reporter into the New York Yankees' locker room. Motley went on to become chief judge of the district in 1982, and senior judge in 1986.
Civil Rights Legacy
Motley continued to serve as a federal judge until her death. She died from congestive heart failure on September 28, 2005, at the NYU Downtown Hospital in Manhattan. She was survived by her husband, Joel Wilson Motley Jr., her son, Joel III, and three grandchildren.
Motley will be remembered for decades to come for her tireless work on behalf of the Civil Rights Movement, and for such inspiring quotes as, "Something which we think is impossible now is not impossible in another decade." Motley also captured her legacy for future generations in her memoir, Equal Justice Under Law: An Autobiography, released on September 10, 1999.
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