b
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Tom Bradley
Police Officer, Lawyer, Mayor / 1917 - 1998
Tom Bradley was a lawyer and police officer who became the first African-American mayor of Los Angeles, serving from 1973 to 1993.
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(1917-1998)
Police Officer, Lawyer, Mayor
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Ron Brown
Lawyer, Government Official / 1941 - 1996
Ron Brown was a lawyer and Democratic politician who served as commerce secretary under the administration of President Bill Clinton.
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(1941-1996)
Lawyer, Government Official
c
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Mary Ann Shadd Cary
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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(1823-1893)
Lawyer, Editor
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Johnnie Cochran
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.
See full bio
(1937-2005)
Lawyer
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Marian Wright Edelman
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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(1939-)
Civil Rights Activist, Lawyer, Writer
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Keith Ellison
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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(1963-)
Lawyer, U.S. Representative
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Benjamin Hooks
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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(1925-2010)
Civil Rights Activist, Lawyer
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Charles H. Houston
Academic, Civil Rights Activist, Lawyer / 1895 - 1950
Charles H. Houston was an attorney and vice-dean who worked in important civil rights cases, ultimately helping to end Jim Crow laws.
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(1895-1950)
Academic, Civil Rights Activist, Lawyer
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Maynard Jackson
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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(1938-2003)
Lawyer, Mayor
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Star Jones
Lawyer, Judge, Talk Show Host / 1962 -
Star Jones is a lawyer and television personality best known for co-hosting ABC's The View from 1997 until 2006.
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(1962-)
Lawyer, Judge, Talk Show Host
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Vernon Jordan Jr.
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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(1935-)
Civil Rights Activist, Business Leader, Lawyer
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Thurgood Marshall
Civil Rights Activist, Lawyer, Judge, Supreme Court Justice / 1908 - 1993
Thurgood Marshall was instrumental in ending legal segregation and became the first African-American justice of the Supreme Court.
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| Watch video
(1908-1993)
Civil Rights Activist, Lawyer, Judge, Supreme Court Justice
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Lesra Martin
Activist, Lawyer / 1963 -
Lesra Martin is a writer, lawyer and motivational speaker known for his efforts to free wrongly accused Rubin Carter.
See full bio
(1963-)
Activist, Lawyer
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Constance Baker Motley
Civil Rights Activist, Lawyer, Judge, Government Official / 1921 - 2005
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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(1921-2005)
Civil Rights Activist, Lawyer, Judge, Government Official
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Barack Obama
Lawyer, U.S. President, U.S. Representative / 1961 -
Barack Obama is the 44th and current president of the United States, and the first African American to serve as U.S. president. First elected to the presidency in 2008, he won a second term in 2012.
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| Watch video
(1961-)
Lawyer, U.S. President, U.S. Representative
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Michelle Obama
Lawyer, U.S. First Lady / 1964 -
Michelle Obama is a lawyer, Chicago city administrator and community outreach worker, as well as the wife of U.S. President Barack Obama and the 44th first lady.
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| Watch video
(1964-)
Lawyer, U.S. First Lady
p
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Richard D. Parsons
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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(1948-)
Entrepreneur, Lawyer
r
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Charlotte E. Ray
Civil Rights Activist, Women's Rights Activist, Lawyer / 1850 - 1911
Charlotte E. Ray was the first female African-American lawyer in the United States.
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(1850-1911)
Civil Rights Activist, Women's Rights Activist, Lawyer
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Paul Robeson
Civil Rights Activist, Actor, Football Player, Lawyer, Singer / 1898 - 1976
Paul Robeson was an acclaimed 20th century performer known for productions like The Emperor Jones and Othello. He was also an international activist.
See full bio
(1898-1976)
Civil Rights Activist, Actor, Football Player, Lawyer, Singer
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Carl Stokes
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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(1927-1996)
Lawyer, Mayor, News Anchor
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Percy Sutton
Civil Rights Activist, 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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(1920-2009)
Civil Rights Activist, Lawyer
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Clarence Thomas
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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(1948-)
Lawyer, Supreme Court Justice
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George Washington Williams
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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(1849-1891)
Scholar, Lawyer, Pastor, Journalist