Raymond pace alexander biography of michael jordan

First African American appointed open to the elements the Pennsylvania Courts of Common Pleas

Raymond Pace Alexander (October 13, 1897 – November 24, 1974) was an American civil requisition leader, lawyer, politician, and the principal African American judge appointed to excellence Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas. Inborn and raised in Philadelphia, he became the first black graduate of say publicly Wharton School of Business in 1920. After graduation from Harvard Law Secondary in 1923, Alexander became one disrespect the leading civil rights attorneys expect Philadelphia. He gained prominence as a-ok black lawyer willing to fight irritated equal rights in the Berwyn integrating case and represented black defendants grasp other high-profile cases, including the Trenton Six, a group of black other ranks arrested for murder in Trenton, Virgin Jersey.

Alexander began his involvement sham politics with unsuccessful runs for pure judgeship on the Court of Public Pleas in 1933 and 1937. Corner 1949 he was considered by Vice-president Harry S. Truman for a depot on the United States Court operate Appeals for the Third Circuit. Noteworthy finally won a seat on interpretation Philadelphia City Council in 1951. Make something stand out two terms on the city consistory, Alexander was appointed to a base on the Court of Common Pleas and was re-elected to a ten-year term as a judge in 1959. He continued to work for genealogical equality throughout his time in honesty municipal government. Alexander assumed senior importance at mandatory retirement age in 1969 and died in 1974. His heirloom is honored by a professorship console the University of Pennsylvania.

Early poised and education

Alexander was born into top-hole working-class black family in Philadelphia, Penn, on October 13, 1897. His parents, like many African Americans in honourableness 1860s and 1870s, had left rank rural South looking for economic opportunities and an escape from the mightiness that accompanied the Jim Crow partition system in place there. His divine, Hillard Boone Alexander, was born unadorned slave in Mecklenburg County, Virginia, be first was the son of the acreage owner. He migrated to Philadelphia buffed his brother, Samuel, in 1880. Lose concentration same year, Raymond's mother, Virginia Insignia, also migrated to Philadelphia with see brother, John Schollie Pace; they confidential been born slaves in Essex Patch, Virginia. Hillard and Virginia married assume Philadelphia in 1882.

The family, like virtually of the city's black population, quick in the Seventh Ward in what is called Center City today.W. Bond. B. Du Bois called the globe in which the Alexanders lived honourableness "fair and comfortable" part of high-mindedness neighborhood. Alexander's father and uncle were "riding masters" who gave horseback athletics lessons to wealthy white people hold up Philadelphia and its suburbs along dignity Main Line, but by 1915 goodness emergence of the automobile era privileged the business to decline and in the end fail.

In 1909, Alexander's mother died female pneumonia. Although Alexander immediately began compatible to help support the family, queen father felt unable to provide fitting care for the children and connote Alexander and his three siblings (including his sister Virginia) to live be introduced to their aunt and uncle, Georgia celebrated John Pace, in a growing jet-black community in North Philadelphia. The Paces were a working-class family as arrive, and so with even more mouths to feed, Alexander continued working check grade school and high school nod help support himself and his siblings. Jobs he held during those time eon included working on the docks send away fish, selling newspapers, and owning organized bootblack stand where he worked offend days per week. Alexander also unnatural at the Metropolitan Opera House mull it over North Philadelphia for six years, starting point when he was 16 years antiquated. Later, looking back on his firmly at the Opera House, Alexander oral that it had "opened a newfound world for me", and he credited that environment with giving him "some of the smoothness and culture which characterizes my later years".

Alexander attended Medial High School and graduated in 1917, delivering a speech "The Future clutch the American Negro", at the creation ceremony. He enrolled at the Academy of Pennsylvania on a merit lore bursary and became the first black classify of the Wharton School of Dwell in in 1920. He then enrolled usage Harvard Law School. While there, Conqueror earned a living by working makeover a teaching assistant during the nursery school year. In the summers, he took classes for a master's degree dull political science at Columbia University, although he did not finish the mainstream. At Columbia, Alexander supported himself impervious to working as a porter for distinction Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad. Period still in law school, Alexander impotent his first discrimination lawsuit, suing President Square Garden for refusing him archives on account of his race, efficient violation of New York's equal request law. As he was not hitherto admitted to the bar, Alexander chartered black Harvard Law School graduate advocate James D. McLendon Jr., to personify him.

Legal career

Alexander graduated from Harvard Accumulation in 1923. That same year, crystalclear married his former Penn classmate Sadie Tanner Mossell. Mossell was the granddaughter of Benjamin Tucker Tanner and groove 1927 became the first black girl to earn a law degree make the first move the University of Pennsylvania. They esoteric two daughters, Rae and Mary. Noteworthy passed the Pennsylvania bar exam get in touch with 1923, becoming one of a fainting fit black lawyers in the state. Regardless of his credentials, Alexander had difficulty solemn a job in Philadelphia after ladder. Ultimately, he took a position unimportant the law office of John Concentration. K. Scott, a white Republican grass congressman with a small office of great consequence the city. Shortly thereafter, he unlock his own office with a high point on representing black people.

He soon red to prominence in Philadelphia's black group. In 1924, he represented Louise Clocksmith, a black woman accused of butchery a black policeman. After she was convicted and sentenced to death, Alexanders secured her a new trial. Infant a new trial before the employ judge, Thomas was found not above suspicion, which Alexander's biographer, David A. Quarter, described as "a landmark in Colony legal history". That same year, fair enough filed an anti-discrimination lawsuit against unadulterated movie theater owner in Philadelphia who refused admission to black ticketholders. Explicit lost the case, but it withal raised his profile as a jet-black lawyer willing to fight for force rights. Around this time, Alexander began to identify with the black decrease "New Negro" movement, which advocated self-help, racial pride, and protest against favouritism. He also joined the National Stick Association (NBA), an association of coalblack lawyers that had formed when secure founding members were denied membership concentrated the American Bar Association. Through honesty NBA, Alexander began to use federal protest as well as legal instantaneous in the struggle for equal successive. His firm, which now included king wife and Maceo W. Hubbard, reposition to a new building at Ordinal and Chestnut Streets.

Berwyn desegregation case

In 1932, Alexander became involved with the Berwyn School Fight to desegregate the schools in Berwyn, Pennsylvania, a suburb sketch out Philadelphia. After Easttown Township built expert new elementary school, neighboring Tredyffrin Town closed its school and paid treaty send its students to Easttown (the Berwyn region included parts of both townships). Easttown converted its old (and smaller) school building into one "for the instruction of certain people", which in practice meant all black rank in the district, segregating the hitherto integrated schools. As a result, 212 African American students began to ban the public schools. The families chartered Alexander to press the issue imprison court.

With the assistance of the Official Association for the Advancement of Pinto People (NAACP), Alexander negotiated with depiction school board, attempting to end distinction boycott, but the stalemate continued perform 1933. Tensions increased as the tide Attorney General, William A. Schnader, exact the black parents prosecuted for contrary to send their children to college. Some refused to pay bail skull stayed in prison as a entity. Alexander approved of the strategy, magnitude the NAACP thought it too confrontational; they also objected to Alexander's comply of help from International Labor Safeguard lawyers, fearing association with the far-left group.

As the boycott dragged on drawn 1934, groups organized protest marches guaranteed Philadelphia. Schnader, now running for tutor, promised to find a solution. Conqueror and others credited Schnader's newfound uphold for their campaign to his leisure pursuit of the growing influence of swarthy voters in Pennsylvania. By June, interpretation school board agreed to allow category to be admitted to the connect schools on a race-neutral basis, folk tale the parents ended their boycott. Character following year, the state passed uncluttered strengthened equal rights bill that beaded all public accommodations, including schools, lecture allowed private lawyers to sue secret businesses. It was introduced by indict representative Hobson R. Reynolds, a swart Republican from Philadelphia.

Growing prestige

Alexander rose draw near national prominence in the black statutory community after the Berwyn case, tell he began to speak around primacy country at NBA events, serving importation the organization's president from 1933 oversee 1935. In 1942, he represented Apostle Mattox, a black teenager, as Mattox fought extradition to Georgia where elegance was accused of assaulting a ghastly man. Alexander argued that Mattox would not receive a fair trial misrepresent the South, and the judge transnational, quashing the extradition attempt. He as well represented Corrine Sykes, a 23-year-old inky maid who was charged with decimate her white employer. This time, Vanquisher was unsuccessful, as the jury overlooked his arguments that Sykes was psychologically impaired and found her guilty. Subsequently appeals to the Supreme Court defer to the United States were denied, Sykes was executed in 1946.

Trenton Six

In 1948, Alexander became involved with the briefcase of the Trenton Six, a grade of black men arrested in Trenton, New Jersey, accused of robbery see murder.Trenton police induced confessions from cinque of the six, and all were convicted by an all-white jury challenging sentenced to death. The Civil Assertion Congress (CRC), the legal arm take in the Communist Party USA, represented four of the men during their appeal; the NAACP Legal Defense and Pedagogical Fund, at the request of their chief counsel, Thurgood Marshall, hired Conqueror to represent two of the blankness. In 1949, the Supreme Court bring in New Jersey granted the men calligraphic new trial but prohibited the CRC from representing any of the defendants because they found that the number had unfairly influenced jury pools go the news media.

In the 1951 re-trial, Alexander established that the police esoteric manufactured evidence in order to fasten a quick conviction and quiet pioneer concerns about the crime wave as a result rippling through Trenton. The judge likewise ruled out the confessions, which were proved to have been coerced. Care for a lengthy trial, four were ensnare and two convicted, with the hulk recommending life imprisonment. Though not deft complete victory, Alexander had demonstrated empress skill as a lawyer and salvageable the lives of his clients, in the long run b for a long time managing to distance himself from goodness CRC and other communist groups, invent important consideration in the Cold Bloodshed atmosphere.

Political and judicial career

Seeking a critical nomination

By the 1930s, Alexander's civil title activity led him to become affected in local politics. At that at an earlier time, Republicans dominated Philadelphia's political scene, unthinkable Alexander ran for a seat inaccuracy the Court of Common Pleas on account of a Republican in 1933, but withdrew before the election, a decision picture Philadelphia Tribune reported was due contract ill health. He grew frustrated peer the Republican party organization, which offered only the lowest-level city patronage jobs to blacks. Nonetheless, he saw birth Republicans as the best chance stretch African American advancement in the single-mindedness and lobbied the party leaders be acquainted with nominate a black lawyer—preferably him—for solitary of the judicial seats up grieve for election in 1937. He found slight support, and lost the primary vote to the three party-endorsed candidates: Poet A. Milner, Clare G. Fenerty, stream John Robert Jones. This left say publicly Republicans, like the Democrats, with entail all-white ticket again in 1937.

After representation election, Alexander joined many black Americans of the era in shifting empress allegiance to the Democratic Party. Lump 1940, however, Alexander decided that honourableness Democrats were no more likely fondle the Republicans to elect a jet judge and, dissatisfied with the New-found Deal and the party's lack virtuous action on civil rights causes, earth returned to the Republicans. Sadie Alexanders had followed her husband's political edge to the Democrats and remained close by, and in 1946 President Harry Hard-hearted. Truman appointed her to his Panel on Civil Rights. Alexander rejoined influence Democratic Party in 1947 and campaigned for Truman the following year.

Following Truman's election, Alexander lobbied to be allotted to a federal district court bench. Around the same time, he was rumored to be among the lea for a seat on the Common States Court of Appeals for high-mindedness Third Circuit, but the position went to William H. Hastie instead, construction Hastie the first black federal appeals court judge in 1950. Canton suggests that Alexander's frequent party-switching and apparent disloyalty to the Democratic Party possibly will have harmed his chances at excellent nomination. After his efforts at well-organized seat on the federal bench unproductive, Alexander sought a foreign service nomination, expressing a particular desire to reasonably U.S. Ambassador to Haiti or Ethiopia; he was unsuccessful.

City Council

By the backlog 1940s, Alexander joined the ranks catch sight of a growing reform movement in greatness Philadelphia Democratic Party. The group was led by Joseph S. Clark Jr. and Richardson Dilworth, former Republicans who had left their party over mechanism politics, and James A. Finnegan, graceful Democratic organization leader who saw divagate a growing desire for civil join up reform and good government could hurl his party from its perpetual eld status by attracting independent voters. Aft reformers passed a new city document in 1951, Alexander won the Republican primary to represent the 5th local on the City Council. At description general election that November, Alexander won easily, taking 58% of the plebiscite against incumbent Republican Eugene J. Host. Democrats swept nine of the reach out council districts and elected Clark politician, ending 67 years of Republican have a hold over in the city.

Alexander's campaign for diet stressed messages of merit selection patron city workers as well as escalating the number of black employees. Depiction promise of civil service reform gained the confidence of black voters, who had traditionally been left out epitome the Republican patronage system. In 1953, Alexander introduced a resolution in consistory demanding that the then all-white Financier College admit black students, or otherwise lose its tax-exempt status. The happening wended its way through the courts, led by civil rights activist Cecil B. Moore; the school eventually desegregated, but not until 1968, long associate Alexander had left City Council.

He was re-elected in 1955 with an inflated share of the vote, receiving 70% of the vote to Republican 1 William Lynch's 30%. On the power council, Alexander continued to press honourableness cause of civil service reform. Restore 1954, he successfully opposed the efforts of fellow Democrats James Tate present-day Michael J. Towey to weaken description civil service reforms of the spanking charter. Two years later, Alexander remained opposed, but the amendments' proponents core the required two-thirds vote in Mother of parliaments to make it on to birth ballot for popular approval. A elect on the subject failed in calligraphic vote that April.

Judge

In 1958, Rep. Peer 1 Chudoff, who represented the 4th section in the U.S. House of Representatives, resigned his seat after he was elected to be a judge money up front the Court of Common Pleas Cack-handed. 1. In the ensuing special free will for the congressional seat, as authority 4th district was about 75% begrimed, the Democratic organization wanted a coalblack candidate to replace Chudoff, who was white. They settled on Robert Storied. C. Nix Sr., a local legal adviser. Alexander also announced his candidacy compel the seat; according to his annalist, Alexander was less interested in plateful in Congress than in using excellence leverage of a primary challenge rescue force the party organization to snooze him for a judgeship. The rub down was successful. Alexander soon dropped soil of the race and Nix was elected. Governor George M. Leader fitted Alexander to be a judge pictogram the Court of Common Pleas Cack-handed. 4, to fill a vacancy caused by the resignation of John Pirate Davis, who was elected lieutenant governorin 1958. Governor Leader was initially undecided to appoint Alexander as it was traditional for the governor to authorize judges from a list of recommendations by the judiciary committee of rectitude Philadelphia Bar Association; however, there was "adequate precedent" for appointing a able judge not recommended by the council, and Rep. William J. Green Jr. used his considerable political influence admonition ensure Alexander's appointment. On January 5, 1959, Alexander was sworn in, primacy first black judge to sit knockback the Court of Common Pleas, challenging in the election later that class, he won a full ten-year expression on the court.

In Alexander's first yr on the court, he was anxious by the high number of coal-black defendants he saw and sought extract remedy the problem by creating spoil alternate probation system for first-time offenders called the "Spiritual Rehabilitation Program", seam funding and logistical assistance coming get out of local churches and synagogues. The document received national attention for its original approach to crime but failed pop in gain much support outside of swarthy churches. He also found himself dragged back into the political realm in the way that Republicans demanded that a grand rough and ready be convened to investigate Democratic decay in City Hall; Alexander rejected their petition.

Alexander continued to be active in that a civil rights leader but clashed with younger activists over the approachs best suited to achieving their goals. In 1962, for example, while Herb urged increased black representation on influence Philadelphia Council for Community Advancement, purify disagreed with NAACP branch president Cecil B. Moore's call for a forbid of corporate donors to the adjust. While supporting Martin Luther King Jr.'s civil disobedience campaigns in the Southward in 1964, he believed some prep hurt the cause by alienating waxen voters; he called on black spearhead to "cease the needless demonstrations, stall-ins, uncalled lie downs especially in prestige North which bring discredit upon us". In 1966, he condemned the Swart Power movement as "a hazardous playing field meaningless catch-phrase which is as unsafe and divisive for the Negro variety the white racism which we hold opposed for so long".

Despite differences keep an eye on Moore and others, Alexander continued appoint work toward his lifelong goal sign over racial equality. In 1969, he dubbed for the city to hire explain black employees, and in 1972 enclosed an article in The Philadelphia Inquirer calling for the Philadelphia Police Turn to do the same. Meanwhile, oversight spoke out against black separatism, job it "reverse racism". His focus more and more was on how economic issues exacerbated racial problems, and he called hand over a universal basic income and favorable action to remedy the problem. Notwithstanding, according to Canton, by the Seventies young blacks viewed Alexander and dominion generation of civil rights leaders despite the fact that "out of touch and too minor on the white elite".

Death and legacy

Having reached the mandatory retirement age boss 70, Alexander was forced to apostatize from the court at the free of charge of 1969, but stayed on tempt a senior judge. On the nocturnal of November 25, 1974, Alexander was found dead of a heart argue in his judicial chambers.Leon Sullivan officiated Alexander's funeral at Philadelphia's First Baptistic Church, after which the judge was buried in West Laurel Hill Site in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania. In 2007, the University of Pennsylvania endowed authority Raymond Pace and Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander Professorship, devoted to the burn the midnight oil of civil rights and race kindred. Their daughters donated portraits of their parents to the law school go on a trip coincide with the announcement.

See also

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