List of first minority male lawyers and judges in South Carolina

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

Firsts in state history
Jonathan Jasper Wright: First African American male lawyer (1867) and Justice of the South Carolina Supreme Court (1870)

Lawyer

Judicial Officers

State
Judges
  • Samuel B. Thompson:[3] First African American male to serve as a judicial officer in South Carolina (c. 1868)
  • Richard E. Fields (1948):[4][5] First African American male judge in South Carolina
Probate Court
  • Bernard R. Fielding Sr.:[6] First African American male appointed as an associate probate judge in South Carolina (1976)
  • Harry C. Brown (1987):[7][8] First African American male elected as a probate judge in South Carolina (1987)
Supreme Court
  • Jonathan Jasper Wright (1867):[1][2] First African American male appointed as a Justice of the South Carolina Supreme Court (1870)
  • Ernest A. Finney Jr. (1954):[9] First African American male appointed to the South Carolina Supreme Court since the Reconstruction Era (1985)

Federal
District Court
  • Matthew J. Perry (1959):[10][11] First African American male appointed as a Judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina (1979)

Bar Association
  • I. S. Leevy Johnson (1968):[12] First African American male to serve as the President of the South Carolina Bar Association (1985)

Firsts in local history

Alphabetized by county name

Charleston County
  • Bernard R. Fielding Sr.:[6] First African American male probate judge in Charleston County, South Carolina (1990)

Greenville County
  • Donald J. Sampson:[13][14] First African American male lawyer in Greenville County, South Carolina

Jasper County
  • Harry C. Brown (1987):[7][8] First African American male elected as a probate judge in Jasper County, South Carolina (1987)

Spartanburg County
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See also

Other topics of interest

References
  1. Fordham, Damon L. (2009-02-01). Voices of Black South Carolina: Legend & Legacy. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 9781625842992.
  2. "Wright, Jonathan J. (1840-1885) | The Black Past: Remembered and Reclaimed". www.blackpast.org. Retrieved 2018-01-11.
  3. Jr, J. Clay Smith (1999). Emancipation: The Making of the Black Lawyer, 1844-1944. University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 978-0-8122-1685-1.
  4. "Congressional Record". www.congress.gov. Retrieved 2018-01-11.
  5. Burke, William Lewis; Gergel, Belinda (2004). Matthew J. Perry: The Man, His Times, and His Legacy. Univ of South Carolina Press. ISBN 9781570035340.
  6. "S.C.'s First Black Probate Judge Notes That Black History's Discrimination Continues Into Modern Times". The Charleston Chronicle. Retrieved 2019-01-14.
  7. First Black Probate Judge Elected in S. California. Johnson Publishing Company. 1987-02-16.
  8. Guthrie, Anna Lorraine; Tannehill, Bertha; Shimer, Neltje Marie Tannehill (1988). Readers' Guide to Periodical Literature. H. W. Wilson Company.
  9. Shain, Andy (December 4, 2017). "Former S.C. Supreme Court Chief Justice Ernest Finney Jr. passes away". Post and Courier. Retrieved 2018-01-29.
  10. S.C. Courthouse is Named for 1st Black Federal Judge in South; Not Late Sen. Strom Thurmond. Jet. 2004-05-24.
  11. "S.C. Legal and Civil Rights Icon Passes Away". Lexington, SC Patch. 2011-08-01. Retrieved 2018-02-14.
  12. "Johnson, Isaac Samuel Leevy". South Carolina Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2019-01-04.
  13. "Donald James Sampson's Obituary on The Greenville News". The Greenville News. Retrieved 2018-02-13.
  14. "Group to honor four Upstate women for their accomplishments". The Greenville News. Greenville, South Carolina. February 26, 1990. p. 9. Retrieved 2018-02-13 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. Montgomery, Bob. "Wofford students tidy up Spartanburg's African-American cemetery". GoUpstate. Retrieved 2020-03-13.
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