This year, the ABA is celebrating Black Legal Trailblazers, from the 1800s to the present. The individuals have not only been powerful examples of leadership in the legal profession, but have brought about historic change and progress to make the legal field more inclusive today, and more representative of our population as a whole.
Gallery
See the ABA Journal's Gallery of 14 Black lawyers who made history
According to the History Channel, Black History Month is an annual celebration of achievements by African Americans and a time for recognizing the central role of blacks in U.S. history. The event grew out of “Negro History Week,” the brainchild of noted historian Carter G. Woodson and other prominent African Americans. Since 1976, every U.S. president has officially designated the month of February as Black History Month.
Learn - More
Learn more about ways the Commission on Racial & Ethnic Diversity in the Profession supports lawyers of color. Many Black lawyers and legal professionals have been honored at the Spirit of Excellence Awards, have participated in the Collaborative Bar Leadership Academy, and have been highlighted in the Innovator Newsletter.
Learn more about the ways the Commission on Women in the Profession supports, listens to, and honors Women of Color in the legal profession. The annual Margaret Brent awards have honored Black female leaders, and the Commission on Women leads a Women of Color Research Initiative and toolkit.
The National Bar Association was founded in 1925 and is the nation's oldest and largest national network of predominantly African-American attorneys and judges. Watch the video on their work, titled: We Are History. (image caption: The National Bar Association Logo, with a torch and the year 1925).
Watch the Video - Here
With JDs in hand, these 14 attorneys defied adversity to become pioneers in their fields. Check out the gallery from the ABA Journal to discover how each of these black lawyers, some involved as ABA leaders, made history.
