Hidden Legal Figures

Hidden Legal Figures

Hidden Legal Figures rediscovers the untold stories of the legal efforts that have shaped the American story. Each week, a new episode featuring nationally recognized experts in law and history help us understand all about the heroic and vital legal efforts that changed the fate of a nation. More than a Podcast. We’re an oral museum.™

Episodes

June 23, 2020 54 mins

The deaths of unarmed black people have sparked nationwide demonstration and dialogue. Following in the tradition of the great civil rights lawyers like Thurgood Marshall, Constance Baker Motley, and countless others, there are legal warriors doing battle in courtrooms today and their voices are needed to truly understand where we go from here. Attorneys Mawuli M. Davis, Francys Johnson, and R. Gary S...

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Special Commentary Episode regarding killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery

 

Support The Podcast:

If you enjoy Hidden Legal Figures The Podcast, you can support us by donating here and by leaving a review here.

To contact us or learn more about The Arc of Justice Institute, visit: https://onthearc.net/

 

Podcast Team:

Terrass “Razz” Misher, Producer, Podcast-on-the-Go, LLC

Mia Mance, Social Media ...

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On April 4, 1968, six lawyers came to the aid of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in a Federal District Court in Memphis, Tennessee. We visited W. J. Michael “Mike” Cody - one of the lawyers - in October 2019 at his law office in Memphis and he shared his remembrances of the untold legal efforts that were a big part of that fateful day.

For additional reference read, W. J. Michael Cody, King at the Mountaintop: The Represen...

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This week, we shine the spotlight on James Weldon Johnson. Many know him as the author of Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing, but Johnson was also a lawyer and Executive Secretary of the NAACP. In September 1925, a black physician purchased a home in an all-white neighborhood in Detroit. On his second night in the home, a mob gathered outside. After the shooting death of one of the members of the ...

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This week, Mark Curriden completes his discussion of the 1906 saga of Ed Johnson and the lawyer Noah Parden.

Guest Bio:

Mark Curriden Mark Curriden is a lawyer/journalist and founder of The Texas Lawbook. In addition, he is a contributing legal correspondent for The Houston Chronicle and the Dallas Business Journal.

Mark is the author of the best selling book Contempt of Court: A Turn-of-the-Century Lynching That Launc...

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In Part 3, Mark Curriden takes us inside the United States Supreme Court as the 1906 saga of the Ed Johnson case makes its way to the nation's highest Court and how Noah Parden and Styles Hitchins made legal history.

 

Legal Figure Bio:

Noah Walter Parden (c. 1868 – February 23, 1944) was an American attorney and politician who was active in Chattanooga, Tennessee, East St. Louis, Illinois, and St. Louis, Missouri betw...

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This week we continue our discussion about one of the most important and little-known cases in American history, the case of Ed Johnson, who in 1906 was falsely accused of rape in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

 

Legal Figure Bio:

Noah Walter Parden (c. 1868 – February 23, 1944) was an American attorney and politician who was active in Chattanooga, Tennessee, East St. Louis, Illinois, and St. Louis, Missouri between 1891 and ...

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April 7, 2020 19 mins

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This week Mark Curriden shares with us the compelling story of a 1906 legal drama that started with a false arrest for rape, a shameful trial that was chock full of abuse and gross injustice, and a lawyer named Noah Parden who along with the United States Supreme Court, made respect for the rule of law a gift to future generations of Americans.

 

Guest Bio:

Mark Curriden is a lawyer/journalist and founder of The Texas ...

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April 1, 2020 17 mins

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In this special episode closing out our commemoration of Women's History Month, we pay tribute to Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander, one of the most accomplished lawyers of the twentieth century. In 1918, she became the first woman to earn a Ph.D. (Economics) from the University of Pennsylvania, and in 1927 she was the first woman to receive a law degree from the University of Pennsylvania L...

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March 24, 2020 9 mins

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In 1939, Jane Matilda Bolin became the first African American female judge in the nation's history. As a judge, serving forty years in the Domestic Relations Court in New York City, Judge Bolin made great strides in protecting the rights of children. In honor of Women's History Month, we highlight the outstanding career of this noteworthy legal figure.

Special thanks to Sydney A. Pope for her voice portrayal of Judge J...

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March 17, 2020 23 mins

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Of the more than 250 cases she handled while at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, the James Meredith case was perhaps the most noteworthy effort by Constance Baker Motley. In this episode, we take an in-depth look at how the case started, some aspects that were unique to the case, and what Mrs. Motley felt was the long-term impact and meaning of the whole matter.

Special thanks to Joel Motley, III and The Trials of Constan...

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March 10, 2020 27 mins

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Constance Baker Motley was one of the most important civil rights lawyers of the twentieth century. Tapped by Thurgood Marshall early in 1945 to join the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, she was involved in more than 200 cases as either lead counsel or during the appeal of a case. In 1966, she became the first African American woman to be appointed as a federal judge. Joel Motley, III, Judge Motley’s son and producer of the m...

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March 3, 2020 21 mins

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Constance Baker Motley was one of the most important civil rights lawyers of the twentieth century. Tapped by Thurgood Marshall in 1945 to join the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, she was involved in more than 200 cases as either lead counsel or during the appeal of a case. In 1966, she became the first African American woman to be appointed as a federal judge. Joel Motley, III, Judge Motley’s son and producer of the multi-a...

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For The Record Roll Call highlights some little known accomplishments made by black lawyers before Black History Month was established.

 

Support The Podcast:

If you enjoy Hidden Legal Figures The Podcast, you can support us by donating here and by leaving a review here.

To contact us or learn more about The Arc of Justice Institute, visit: https://onthearc.net/

 

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This week we find a hidden legal figure inside one of America's favorite TV legal dramas. On May 2nd, 1963 in "The Case of the Skeletons Closet", we find for the first time the appearance of an African American judge and his name was Vince Townsend, Jr

 

Support The Podcast:

If you enjoy Hidden Legal Figures The Podcast, you can support us by donating here and by leaving a review here.

To contact us or learn more about...

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Donald Lee Hollowell was the one lawyer that Georgians would call on when their rights were being threatened. From his first case in 1952, all the way through his retirement in the early 90’s Hollowell’s name was synonymous with civil rights. In Part 2, his enduring legacy is discussed by veteran civil rights leader, Rev. Otis Moss, Jr.

 

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Donald Lee Hollowell was the one lawyer that Georgians would call on when their rights were being threatened. From his first case in 1952 all the way through his retirement in the early 90’s Hollowell’s name was synonymous with civil rights.

In Part 1, the cases he handled are detailed by professor Maurice Daniels, author of Saving the Soul of Georgia: Donald L. Hollowell and the Struggle for Civil Rights.

 

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January 28, 2020 29 mins

 

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In 1961, the fate of the nation's oldest public institution of higher learning hung in the balance. It would be up to one federal judge to rule on the question of equality in education. Mercer University Law Professor Pat Longan joins us to reflect on the life and career of Judge William Augustus Bootle and the case that desegregated the University of Georgia.

Guest Bio 

Patrick Longan is a nationally recogniz...

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January 21, 2020 20 mins

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In 1961, the fate of the nation's oldest public institution of higher learning hung in the balance. It would be up to one federal judge to rule on the question of equality in education. Mercer University Law Professor Pat Longan joins us to reflect on the life and career of Judge William Augustus Bootle and the case that desegregated the University of Georgia.

Guest Bio 

Patrick Longan is a nationally recognized...

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Leroy Reginald Johnson was an American politician who served in the Georgia State Senate from 1963 to 1975 after winning a seat in 1962. He was the first black state senator to be elected to the legislature in more than fifty years, since William Rogers in 1907, and the first to be elected to the Senate since 1874. He served District 38 in Fulton County and Atlanta. Before his term as senator, Johnson was an attorney where he playe...

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