Belford Lawson Jr. | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1901-07-09)July 9, 1901 Roanoke, Virginia, U.S. |
| Died | February 23, 1985(1985-02-23) (aged 83) Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Alma mater | Howard University Yale Law School University of Michigan |
| Occupation | Lawyer |
| Known for | New Negro Alliance v. Sanitary Grocery Co. President ofAlpha Phi Alpha President of theYMCA |
Belford Vance Lawson Jr. (July 9, 1901 – February 23, 1985) was an Americanattorney andcivil rightsactivist who made at least eight appearances before theU.S. Supreme Court. He was the first African-American man to win a case before the Supreme Court and the first African-American president ofYMCA.[1][2] His wife,Marjorie McKenzie Lawson, was also an attorney who served as the first African-American female judge to receive senatorial confirmation to the newly created Juvenile Court of the District of Columbia
Belford Lawson was born and grew up inRoanoke, Virginia. He was a student atHampton Institute in Virginia from 1916 until 1919, and Michigan'sFerris Institute from 1919 to 1920. He attended theUniversity of Michigan and was the school's second African-American varsity football player. He was the only African American on the varsity duringFielding H. Yost's coaching tenure.[3][4][5][6]
After graduating from college in 1924, Lawson taught atMorris Brown College and worked in the life insurance industry. He then attendedYale Law School, followed by enrollment atHoward University School of Law, from which he graduated in 1932.[1][7]
In 1933, Lawson founded the New Negro Alliance (NNA) in Washington, D.C., along withJohn A. Davis Sr. andM. Franklin Thorne, to challengewhite-owned businesses inblack neighborhoods that would not hire black employees.[8] The NNA instituted aDon't Buy Where You Can't Work campaign, considered radical at the time, and organized or threatenedboycotts against white-owned businesses that did not hire blacks. In response, some businesses arranged for aninjunction to stop thepicketing. Lawson, the lead attorney, with assistance byThurgood Marshall, fought back – all the way to the United States Supreme Court inNew Negro Alliance v. Sanitary Grocery Co. (1938). The court ruled that the organization and residents had a right to boycott.[9] This became alandmark case in thestruggle by African Americans againstdiscriminatory hiring practices. Don't Buy Where You Can't Work groups multiplied throughout the nation. The NNA estimated that by 1940, the group had secured 5,106 jobs for blacks because businesses could not afford to lose sales of black customers during theGreat Depression.[10]
In 1934, Lawson encouragedNational Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) special counselCharles Houston to authorize Thurgood Marshall to file the case ofMurray v. Maryland (1935) to challenge the state law requiring segregation in theUniversity of Maryland School of Law. Marshall won the case, andDonald Murray was admitted to the university's law school.
Lawson was part of the legal team that wonHenderson v. Southern Railway Company (1950), challenging theInterstate Commerce Commission's approval of railroad racial segregation practices. Thelawsuit resulted in the abolition of segregation in railroaddining cars.[1]
Lawson was the 16th General President ofAlpha Phi Alpha, the first intercollegiateGreek letterorganization established by African Americans.[11] The fraternity sponsors an annual Belford V. Lawson Oratorical Contest. Collegiate members compete inoratorical skills at the chapter level, with the winner competing at the state, regional, and general conventions. The fraternity says "the purpose of the Belford V. Lawson Oratorical Contest is to identify problems or special topics of interest within society and determine how the problem or topic relates to the goals and objectives of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated."[12]
In 1973, Lawson was elected president of YMCA of the USA. He continued to be active in law and civic activities but reduced his activities in later years. He died in Washington, D.C., in 1985, after having battled age-related dementia and stomach cancer.
| Preceded by | General President ofAlpha Phi Alpha 1946–1951 | Succeeded by Antonio M. Smith |