List of first minority male lawyers and judges in Tennessee

This is a list of the first minority male lawyer(s) and judge(s) in Tennessee. It includes the year in which the men were admitted to practice law (in parentheses). Also included are other distinctions such as the first minority men in their state to obtain a law degree or become a political figure.

Firsts in state history
Fredrick McGhee: First African American male lawyer in Tennessee (1885)
Benjamin Hooks: First African American male judge in Tennessee since Reconstruction Era (1965)

Lawyers
  • William F. Yardley (1872):[1] First African American male lawyer to argue a case before the Tennessee Supreme Court (1883)
  • Fredrick McGhee (1885):[2] First African American male lawyer in Tennessee

State
City Court
  • S.A. Wilbun:[6] First African American male to become a Judge of the City Court in Tennessee (1973)
General Sessions
  • A. A. Birch Jr. (1956):[7][8] First African American male to serve as a Judge of the General Sessions Court in Tennessee (1969)
Criminal Court
  • A. A. Birch Jr. (1956):[7][8] First African American male to serve as a Judge of the Criminal Court in Tennessee (1978)[9]
Circuit Court
  • S.A. Wilbun:[6] First African American male to become a Judge of the Circuit Court in Tennessee (1978)
Supreme Court
  • George H. Brown:[10][11] First African American male appointed as a Justice of the Tennessee Supreme Court (1980)
  • A. A. Birch Jr. (1956):[7][8] First African American male appointed as the Chief Justice of the Tennessee Supreme Court (1994)
District Court
  • Odell Horton (1956):[12] First African American male appointed as a Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee (1980)
  • William Joseph Haynes Jr. (1973):[13] First African American male appointed as a Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee (1999)

Assistant United States Attorney
  • Odell Horton (1956):[12] First African American male to serve as the Assistant U.S. Attorney for Tennessee

Assistant District Attorney

Firsts in local history

Alphabetized by county name

Davidson County

Hamilton County

Knox County

Montgomery County

Putnam County

Shelby County
  • Thomas Frank Cassels:[6] First African American male to serve as the Attorney General Pro Tem of Shelby County Criminal Court (c. 1880s)
  • Josiah T. Settle (1875):[6] First African American male to serve as a prosecutor in Shelby County, Tennessee
  • S.A. Wilbun:[6] First African American male to serve as the Assistant City Attorney in Memphis, Tennessee (1964) [Shelby County, Tennessee]
  • Ural B. Adams:[6] First African American male to serve as the Public Defender of Shelby County, Tennessee (1979)
  • Floyd Peete:[6] First African American male to serve as the Chancellor of Shelby County Chancery Court (1990)

See also

Other topics of interest

References
  1. "Yardley, William Francis (1844-1924) | The Black Past: Remembered and Reclaimed". www.blackpast.org. Retrieved 2017-10-26.
  2. "McGhee, Fredrick L. (1861-1912) | The Black Past: Remembered and Reclaimed". www.blackpast.org. Retrieved 2017-10-26.
  3. Brock, Roslyn M. (2010-05-03). "Benjamin Hooks". Time. ISSN 0040-781X. Retrieved 2018-01-11.
  4. Inc, The Crisis Publishing Company (2010). The Crisis. The Crisis Publishing Company, Inc.
  5. "Milestones". benfjones.org. Retrieved 2018-01-12.
  6. "Milestones « Ben F. Jones Chapter of the National Bar Association". benfjones.com. Retrieved 2020-03-05.
  7. "Justice A.A. Birch dies at age 78". Retrieved 2018-01-12.
  8. Ely, James W.; Brown (Jr.), Theodore; Huebner, Timothy S.; Brown, R. Ben; Thompson, Ruth Anne; Vile, John R.; Pierce, Carl A. (2002). A History of the Tennessee Supreme Court. Univ. of Tennessee Press. ISBN 978-1-57233-178-5.
  9. Upon Birch's appointment as a Criminal Court Judge for the Twentieth District (Davidson County) in 1978
  10. Ely, James W.; (Jr.), Theodore Brown (2002). A History of the Tennessee Supreme Court. Univ. of Tennessee Press. ISBN 9781572331785.
  11. Sabato, Larry (2003). Midterm Madness: The Elections of 2002. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 9780742526860.
  12. Staff, From Times; Reports, Wire (2006-02-24). "Odell Horton, 77; First Modern Black Federal Judge in Tennessee". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 2018-01-12.
  13. "Judge 'Joe' Haynes Jr. plans to take a step back". The Tennessean. Retrieved 2018-01-19.
  14. "Judge Arthur T. Bennett honored for his service to the state of Tennessee". localmemphis.com. Retrieved 2020-03-05.
  15. King, Lovalerie (2003). A Student's Guide to African American Literature, 1760 to the Present. Peter Lang. ISBN 9780820455211.
  16. "No Story Untold - Parthenon Publishing". Parthenon Publishing. 2016-12-05. Retrieved 2018-02-14.
  17. "Classmate Announcements - Vanderbilt Lawyer (Volume 37, Number 1)". law.vanderbilt.edu. Retrieved 2018-02-14.
  18. "Race relations in Chattanooga". timesfreepress.com. Retrieved 2020-03-12.
  19. "Gerald Webb Sworn In As The First African American Judge For Hamilton County, Tennessee, Courts". Essence. Retrieved 2019-07-17.
  20. Smith, Jessie Carney (2012-12-01). Black Firsts: 4,000 Ground-Breaking and Pioneering Historical Events. Visible Ink Press. ISBN 9781578594245.
  21. "Karen Willis county's first black female assistant DA". The Leaf-Chronicle. Clarksville, Tennessee. October 16, 2012. p. E4. Retrieved 2018-02-14 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. Trotter, Megan. "Contributors to progress honored at IMPACT banquet". Herald Citizen. Retrieved 2020-03-13.
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