Black Lawyers in the South

In 1969, according to the Winter 1974 Carnegie Quarterly three black lawyers served an African-American population of about 800,000 in Mississippi. Alabama had 20; Georgia, 34. In an era when many civil rights issues were being fought in the courts, the Corporation was concerned about a lack of black law schools in the south, inadequate education of black students and insufficient funding for their continuing education. As then-senior Corporation program director Eli Evans noted, “It was the black lawyer that was the natural leader in these small towns and communities, for the black community. He would become the most informed civil rights advocate. He would become the most important person with regard to community development work. He would become a political figure in these cities and towns. And if one could increase the number of black lawyers, one could make a significant contribution to the future of the country.” Hence, the Corporation started supporting a variety of programs geared toward helping black southern law students, including the Law Students Civil Rights Research Council and the NAACP’s Earl Warren Legal Training Project. The effects were nearly immediate. By the spring of 1974—a scant five years after funding had begun (amounting to nearly $6 million from the Corporation and other foundations)—nearly 300 black students had graduated from law schools in the South and another 170 black students were completing their first year at southern law schools.