Law

Dr. Mossell (1898-1989), hailing from the distinguished Mossell and Tanner family lines, was an attorney, civic servant, and humanitarian. She was the first black woman to graduate from University of Penn Law School and the first black woman admitted to the Pennsylvania bar (1927). She was also the first Black woman to receive a Ph.D. in Economics in the United States (University of Pennsylvania, 1921), and the first National President of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

First Black woman to practice law in the state of Maryland.

Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama (1964), a graduate of Princeton University and Harvard Law School, began her career at the Chicago law firm Sidley & Austin before transitioning to public service roles including Chicago City Hall, Public Allies, the University of Chicago, and the University of Chicago Hospital. As the first Black First Lady of the United States (2009-2017), she launched signature initiatives focusing on childhood obesity prevention, education access, and support for military families, while later becoming a bestselling author and continuing her advocacy work after leaving the White House.

Fisher (1924-1995) challenged the legal basis of segregated classes at the graduate level in the United States in Sipuel v Board of Regents of the University of Oklahoma (1948).

Jordan (1936-1996) was a lawyer, State Senator, Congresswoman, enthralling orator, educator, and civil rights leader. During President Nixon's televised impeachment hearing, Jordan delivered a powerful 15-minute opening statement to the House Judiciary Committee. Her speech has been hailed as one of the most influential in 20th-century American history, playing a "decisive" role in "swaying public opinion in favor of impeachment".

Bolin (1908-2007) was an attorney and judge. She was the first Black woman to graduate from Yale Law School. In 1939, when she was appointed to serve as a judge on the New York City Domestic Relations Court (later renamed Family Court), she became the first Black woman judge in the United States.

Johnson (1914-2018), performed instrumental work as an attorney in repudiating the "separate but equal" doctrine in the landmark case Sarah Keys v Carolina Coach Company (1955).

Charlotte E. Ray was the first African American woman lawyer in the United States as well as the first woman to be admitted to the District of Columbia Bar. Charlotte attended the Institution for the Education of Colored Youth in Washington, D.C. (now called the University of the District of Columbia) and excelled in her studies.

O'Leary (1937) is an American lawyer, consultant, and former government official. She served as the 7th United States Secretary of Energy from 1993 to 1997 under President Bill Clinton, becoming the first woman and first Black person to hold this position.

Lynch (1959) was the 83rd Attorney General of the United States, the first Black woman to hold the position.

Spelman College and Yale Law School graduate, the first black woman admitted to the Mississippi Bar (1964), founder of the Children's Defense Fund, and the first woman alum elected to the Yale University Corporation, Marian Wright Edelman has dedicated her life to advocating for children's rights and serving her community.

Decided June 12, 2967. In 1958, Mildred and Richard Loving were arrested and jailed for violating Virginia's Racial Integrity Act, which banned marriages between individuals classified as "white" and "colored." The Lovings first challenged the constitutionality of the Act in the Virginia Supreme Court. After the state court upheld the law, the Lovings appealed to the United States Supreme Court, arguing that Virginia's anti-miscegenation law violated the Equal Protection Clause and the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Attorney, educator, and author, Hill (1956) is most well known for her public testimony during the 1991 Senate confirmation hearings for U.S. Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas. Hill, who had worked under Thomas at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), accused him of sexual harassment.

Judge Motley (1921-2005) was a woman of firsts. She was the first Black woman to argue a case before the U.S. Supreme Court, to serve as a federal court judge (Southern District of New York), and to sit in the New York State Senate. She was also the first woman to hold the office of President of the Borough of Manhattan. Earlier in her career she was a law clerk to Justice Thurgood Marshall and the NAACP Legal Defense fund's first woman attorney. She also represented Dr. Martin Luther King and the Freedom Riders.

Attorney

Coined the term “Jane Crow”.