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Police Officer, Lawyer, Mayor / 1917 - 1998
Tom Bradley was the first African American mayor of a predominantly white city, who served an unprecedented five terms as mayor of Los Angeles (1973–93).
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Tom Bradley
1917-1998
Police Officer, Lawyer, Mayor
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Lawyer, Government Official / 1941 - 1996
Ron Brown was the U.S. Secretary of Commerce under Pres. Bill Clinton. He was the first African American to hold this position. He was killed in a plane crash.
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Ron Brown
1941-1996
Lawyer, Government Official
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c
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Lawyer, Editor / 1823 - 1893
Mary Ann Shadd Cary was an active abolitionist and the first female African American newspaper editor in North America.
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Mary Ann Shadd Cary
1823-1893
Lawyer, Editor
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Lawyer / 1937 - 2005
Attorney Johnnie Cochran took on highly publicized police brutality cases and famously defended such celebrity clients as Michael Jackson and O. J. Simpson.
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Johnnie Cochran
1937-2005
Lawyer
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Civil Rights Activist, Women's Rights Activist, Lawyer / 1850 - 1911
Charlotte E. Ray was the first African-American, woman lawyer in the United States.
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Charlotte E. Ray
1850-1911
Civil Rights Activist, Women's Rights Activist, Lawyer
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Civil Rights Activist, Lawyer, Writer / 1939 -
Marian Wright Edelman is best known for her legal advocacy on behalf of African-Americans during and after the Civil Rights Movement.
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Marian Wright Edelman
1939-
Civil Rights Activist, Lawyer, Writer
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Lawyer, U.S. Representative / 1963 -
Politician and U.S. congressman Keith Ellison broke new ground as the first black Muslim elected to the U.S. Congress from Minnesota.
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Keith Ellison
1963-
Lawyer, U.S. Representative
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Civil Rights Activist, Lawyer / 1925 - 2010
Benjamin Hooks became a minister and public defender during the civil rights movement. He would later become the executive director of the NAACP.
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Benjamin Hooks
1925-2010
Civil Rights Activist, Lawyer
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Academic, Civil Rights Activist, Lawyer / 1895 - 1950
Charles H. Houston was an African American lawyer and Litigation Director of the NAACP who played a key role in dismantling the Jim Crow laws.
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Charles H. Houston
1895-1950
Academic, Civil Rights Activist, Lawyer
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j
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Lawyer, Mayor / 1938 - 2003
Maynard Jackson was a lawyer and the first African American mayor of Atlanta, Georgia, serving three terms (1974–82 and 1990–94).
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Maynard Jackson
1938-2003
Lawyer, Mayor
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Civil Rights Activist, Business Leader, Lawyer / 1935 -
Vernon Jordan Jr. is an attorney, civil rights leader, business consultant and influential power broker.
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Vernon Jordan Jr.
1935-
Civil Rights Activist, Business Leader, Lawyer
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m
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Activist, Lawyer / 1963 -
Lesra Martin is a writer, lawyer and motivational speaker known for his efforts to free wrongly accused Rubin Carter.
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Lesra Martin
1963-
Activist, Lawyer
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Civil Rights Activist, Lawyer, Judge / 1921 - 2005
Constance Baker Motley was a legal advocate in the civil rights movement and the first African American woman to become a federal judge.
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Constance Baker Motley
1921-2005
Civil Rights Activist, Lawyer, Judge
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o
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Lawyer, U.S. President, U.S. Representative / 1961 -
Former Illinois Senator Barack Obama is the 44th and current president of the United States. Inaugurated on January 27, 2009, he is the first African-American to serve as U.S. president.
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Barack Obama
1961-
Lawyer, U.S. President, U.S. Representative
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Lawyer, U.S. First Lady / 1964 -
44th First Lady Michelle Obama is a lawyer, Chicago city administrator, community outreach worker, and wife of U.S. President Barack Obama.
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Michelle Obama
1964-
Lawyer, U.S. First Lady
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p
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Entrepreneur, Lawyer / 1948 -
Richard D. Parsons is an American media executive best known as for his Chairman positions at Time Warner and Citigroup.
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Richard D. Parsons
1948-
Entrepreneur, Lawyer
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r
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Civil Rights Activist, Actor, Football Player, Lawyer, Singer / 1898 - 1976
Son of an escaped slave, Paul Robeson is an African-American singer, athlete, actor and political activist who helped popularize African American spirituals.
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Paul Robeson
1898-1976
Civil Rights Activist, Actor, Football Player, Lawyer, Singer
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s
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Lawyer, Mayor, News Anchor / 1927 - 1996
Carl Stokes served as the Cleveland, Ohio’s mayor from 1967 to 1971. He was one of the first African Americans to be elected mayor in a major U.S. city.
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Carl Stokes
1927-1996
Lawyer, Mayor, News Anchor
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Lawyer / 1920 - 2009
Percy Sutton was a Freedom Rider, civil rights activist and prominent African American lawyer best known for representing Malcolm X.
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Percy Sutton
1920-2009
Lawyer
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Lawyer, Supreme Court Justice / 1948 -
Clarence Thomas is the second African American justice to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States. He was appointed in 1991 and leans conservative.
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Clarence Thomas
1948-
Lawyer, Supreme Court Justice
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Scholar, Lawyer, Pastor, Journalist / 1849 - 1891
Civil War veteran George Washington Williams is best known as the author of History of the Negro Race in America, widely considered the first objective history of African Americans.
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George Washington Williams
1849-1891
Scholar, Lawyer, Pastor, Journalist