Macon B. Allen, George B. Vashon, and Robert Morris, Jr., were all neck-to-neck, with each other in vying for the honor of being the first black attorney in America; all only slightly ahead of John Mercer Langston, who was admitted in Ohio in 1853, and who later founded the Howard University Law School in 1869.
August 4, 1816 - Macon Bolling Allen, the first African American to practice law in the United States and the first black Justice of the Peace, was born Allen Macon Bolling in Indiana. Allen grew up a free man and learned to read and write on his own. In the early 1840s, he moved to Portland, Maine. After passing the State of Maine bar exam and earning his recommendation, he was given his license to practice law July 3, 1844. However, because white people were unwilling to have a black man represent them in court, in 1845 Allen moved to Boston, Massachusetts. Allen passed the Massachusetts bar exam that year and he and Robert Morris, Jr. opened the first black law office in the U.S. In 1848, Allen passed another exam to become Justice of the Peace for Middlesex County. After the Civil War, Allen moved to Charleston, South Carolina and in 1873 was appointed Judge in the Inferior Court of Charleston. The next year, he was elected Judge Probate for Charleston County. Later, Allen moved to Washington, D.C. where he worked as an attorney for the Land and Improvement Association. Allen practiced law until his death June 11, 1894. The New York Bar Association and a civil rights clinic in Boston are named in his honor.
Tuesday, August 5, 2014
Macon B. Allen, Robert Morris Jr., George B. Vashon and John Mercer Langston---first black American lawyers
Macon B. Allen, George B. Vashon, and Robert Morris, Jr., were all neck-to-neck, with each other in vying for the honor of being the first black attorney in America; all only slightly ahead of John Mercer Langston, who was admitted in Ohio in 1853, and who later founded the Howard University Law School in 1869.
August 4, 1816 - Macon Bolling Allen, the first African American to practice law in the United States and the first black Justice of the Peace, was born Allen Macon Bolling in Indiana. Allen grew up a free man and learned to read and write on his own. In the early 1840s, he moved to Portland, Maine. After passing the State of Maine bar exam and earning his recommendation, he was given his license to practice law July 3, 1844. However, because white people were unwilling to have a black man represent them in court, in 1845 Allen moved to Boston, Massachusetts. Allen passed the Massachusetts bar exam that year and he and Robert Morris, Jr. opened the first black law office in the U.S. In 1848, Allen passed another exam to become Justice of the Peace for Middlesex County. After the Civil War, Allen moved to Charleston, South Carolina and in 1873 was appointed Judge in the Inferior Court of Charleston. The next year, he was elected Judge Probate for Charleston County. Later, Allen moved to Washington, D.C. where he worked as an attorney for the Land and Improvement Association. Allen practiced law until his death June 11, 1894. The New York Bar Association and a civil rights clinic in Boston are named in his honor.
