Race Distinctions in American LawStephenson, Gilbert Thomas
History
Race Distinctions in American Law
Stephenson, Gilbert Thomas
African Americans -- Politics and government; Law -- United States -- History; United States -- Race relations
case, which has not been overruled so far as has been found, a State
legislature may, in the exercise of its police power, limit the
privilege of practicing law to white males or to white people, and thus
debar the Negro altogether. In the latest collection of Maryland laws,
however, that of 1904, no mention is made of race in the prescribed
qualifications for admission to the bar, but no express repeal has been
found in the annual statutes of the law of 1872 which limited the
privilege of practicing law to white males. The presumption is, however,
that Maryland, in common with the other States, now admits Negro
applicants on the same terms as white.
It is generally known that Negro lawyers in the Southern States are few,
and it is considered that the field there for the Negro lawyer is not
promising. There were seven hundred and twenty-eight Negro lawyers in
the United States in 1900. The following notice in _The Emmanuel
Magazine_ of July 3, 1909, a monthly publication by a Negro in
Washington, North Carolina, is interesting in this connection: “Mr. E.
W. Canady, a respectable colored lawyer of Durham, N. C., not long since
received three thousand four hundred dollars for his service at the bar
in representing one case. This speaks more for him than anything else
possibly could. It shows the public’s confidence in his ability both as
a lawyer and a gentleman of integrity. It also shows that, at least in
some cases, a Negro can get justice in a Southern court, not only for
himself, but for others. The profession of law is the most difficult one
a colored man can follow in the South, because he must deal with white
judges, white jurors, white lawyers, and, sometimes, white witnesses,
and a public sentiment which is created by the whites. If he keep his
soul well equipoised and act gently and manfully—not bootlicking, but
seeking the peace of the city wherein he dwelleth, as Jeremiah advised
the Jews of Babylon to do, he can fare equally as well, if not better,
in the South as he can in the North. I was not a little surprised when I
asked Mr. Canady how the judges treated him and he said, ‘Oh, they’ll
treat you all right, if you act rightly; they are bound to follow the
law, you know.’ This should encourage more young men to take up this
profession.”
AS WITNESS
When one comes to the Negro as a witness, he finds much legislation and
many judicial decisions, but they are confined largely to the first
years after Emancipation; that is, to the years during which the rights
and privileges of the Negro as a freeman were being defined and fixed.
The Negro slave had been either deemed incompetent as a witness, or, if
deemed competent, his testimony was admitted only in certain actions.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account