NAACP Attorney Constance Baker Motley Confronts Racism at "Ole Miss"

Joel Motley recounts the courage of his mother, Constance Baker Motley, as an NAACP Legal Defense Fund attorney in the early 1960s. Motley argued the federal court cases that led to the integration of Ole Miss (the University of Mississippi) and the University of Georgia. These civil rights cases required more than just her legal skills, but a strength of character that helped Motley and her plaintiffs, James Meredith, Charlayne Hunter and Hamilton Holmes to endure in a environment of racism, fear and physical violence.

After winning 9 out of 10 cases she argued before the U.S. Supreme Court, Motley became the first African-American woman elected to the N.Y. State Senate and the first woman elected Manhattan Borough President. In 1966 President Johnson appointed Motley a federal judge in New York's Southern District, the first African-American woman to serve as a federal judge. To learn about the conflict between President Johnson and Senator Robert Kennedy on Motley's appointment, check out the Archives' video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAnBnkkVeMw&feature=share&list=PLCE1CA0B564C0CB6F

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