Indianapolis Recorder, Indianapolis, Marion County, 7 October 2005 — Page 2
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THE INDIANAPOLIS RECORDER
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2005
Civil rights lawyer Constance Baker MoHey dies ar 84
NEW YORK (AP) - Constance Baker Motley, afederal judge who as a young lawyer represented Martin Luther King Jr. and played a pivotal role in reducing racial injustice in America in the 1960s, has died. She was 84. Motley died of congestive heart failure at NYU Downtown Hospital last week, according to her son, Joel Motley III. Early in her career, Motley
fought blatant racism in many of the nation’s landmark segregation cases. After a brief political career, she began a distinguished four-decade span as a judge in 1966, becomingthe first Blackwoman appointed to the federal bench. Motley was born in New Haven, Conn., the ninth of 12 children. Her mother, Rachel Baker, was a founder of the New Haven NAACP.
Her father, Willoughby Alva Baker, worked as a chef for Yale University students’ organizations. Her interest in racial inj ustice and civil rights grew after she was turned away at age 15 from a public beach because she was Black. Her studies soon included political affairs, race relations, Black history and the law. Motley she earned her degree in economics in 1943
from New York University, and three years later, she obtained her law degree from Columbia Law School. In 1945, she became a law clerk to Thurgood Marshall, who was then chief counsel of the NAACP’s Legal Defense and Educational Fund. Over the next two decades, she worked on some of the nation’s most famous civil rights cases, including preparing the draft complaint in
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1950 for what would become Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka, Kan. She became the organization’s associate counsel. Motley worked with ateam oflawyers, psychologists, sociologists, historians and others to try to prove that segregation led to feelings of inferiority in Black children and harmed their ability to learn. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in their favor in May 1954 in a decision credited with toppling public segregation in America. The ruling, though, touched off resistance across the country and led to some of the racial clashes of the 1960s and more litigation. Always, at the heart of it, was Motley, from a case in Little Rock, Ark., in 1957 that led President Eisenhower to call in federal troops to protect nine Black high school students to leading the legal charge to win James Meredith’s entry into the Uni-
versity of Mississippi in 1962. Also in the early 1960s, she successfully argued for 1,000 school children to be reinstated in Birmingham, Ala., after the local school board had expelled them for demonstrating. She represented so-called “Freedom Riders” who rode buses to test the Supreme Court’s i960 ruling prohibiting segregation in interstate transportation. During this time, she represented King as well, defending him and others in cases involving marches in Birmingham and Albany, Ga. From 1961 to 1964, Motley won nine of 10 civil rights cases she argued before the U.S. Supreme Court. In1966, President Johnson nominated her to the federal bench in Manhattan. She was confirmed nine months later after her appointment was opposed by conservative federal judges and southern politicians. Over the next four decades, Motley handled a considerable number of civil rights cases which included her decision in 1978 to let a female reporter be admitted to the New York Yankees’ locker room. In addition to her son, Motley is survivedby her husband, Joel Wilson Motley, three sisters and a brother.
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MIERS ► Continued from Page 1 that judges should strictly interpret the laws and the Constitution of the United States and not legislate from the bench.” Bush noted that Miers was involved in the process of picking several judges (including Roberts) and knows “the kind of judge I’m looking for.” A native of Texas, Miers, 60, has built a career as a trial litigator, representing such clients as Microsoft and Walt Disney Co. A graduate of Southern Methodist University, Miers clerked for U.S. District Judge Joe E. Estes and later became president of the 200-member Locke, Purnell, Rain and Harrell law firm in Texas. She has worked in the Bush administration from its beginning, serving as a special assistant and deputy chief of staff before becoming White House counsel in February. Some observers believe that in selecting Miers, a former Democrat, Bush is hoping to avoid any bitter debates during her confirmation hearings in the Senate. But because she has never
served as a judge and therefore has no written opinions on controversial issues such as abortion, affirmative and separation of church and state, many social progressives and even some conservatives have doubts as to whether she will tilt the court in a rightward direction, or be a moderate “swing vote” justice. Black leaders and members of Congress have taken a cautious stance on Miers, and are seeking more information about her views on issues that affect minorities, women, labor and voting rights. “The president has selected a person whose views and approach to the law on issues of concern to us are unknown,” said Marc Morial, president of the National Urban League. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., who will vote with the rest of the Senate during Mier’s confirmation process, said she “has had a distinguished career as a lawyer, but since her experience does not include serving as a judge, we have yet to know her views on many of the critical constitutional issues facing our country today.”
Homeless coaliHon adds board members Special to the Recorder
The Coalition for Homelessness Intervention and Prevention has added three members to the Board of Directors and selected officers for the year. New board members include: • State Rep. William Crawford, D-Indianapolis. First elected to represent Indianapolis in 1972, Crawford is the ranking minority member of the House Ways and Means Committee. He authored the legislation establishing the Indianapolis Housing Trust Fund in 1999- • Paulette Moore, director of the Care Center, a Wheeler Mission Ministries shelter for women and children. Prior to joining the Care Center in 2003, Moore worked at the Evansville Rescue Mission for 19 years. • Elizabeth Odle, principal at School 14 and 29-year veteran educator with Indianapolis Public Schools. The near-Eastside school serves a large population of homeless children, with over 90 percent of the students qualifying for free or reduced lunches. Officers selected for 2005-2006 include: • Chairman: D. William Moreau Jr., partner, Barnes & Thornburg. • Vice chairwoman: Jane Henegar, deputy mayor for community affairs, City of Indianapolis. • Secretary: Bill Bickel, director, Holy Family Shelter. • Treasurer: Tony Rogers, controller, office of the attorney general.
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