Charles Hamilton Houston

Charles Houston
Houston in 1939
Born
Charles Hamilton Houston

(1895-09-03)September 3, 1895
DiedApril 22, 1950(1950-04-22) (aged 54)
Washington, D.C., U.S.
Resting placeLincoln Memorial Cemetery
EducationAmherst College (BA)
Harvard University (LLB, LLM, SJD)

Charles Hamilton Houston (September 3, 1895 – April 22, 1950)[1] was an American lawyer. He was the dean of Howard University Law School and NAACP first special counsel. A graduate of Amherst College and Harvard Law School, Houston played a significant role in dismantling Jim Crow laws, especially attacking segregation in schools and racial housing covenants. He earned the title "The Man Who Killed Jim Crow".[2]

Houston is also well known for having trained and mentored a generation of black attorneys, including Thurgood Marshall, future founder and director of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and the first Black Supreme Court Justice.[3] He recruited young lawyers to work on the NAACP's litigation campaigns, building connections between Howard's and Harvard's university law schools.

  1. ^ NAACP History: Charles Hamilton Houston Archived August 7, 2016, at the Wayback Machine, NAACP.org. Retrieved March 6, 2014.
  2. ^ "The Man Who Killed Jim Crow: Charles Hamilton Houston - Skilled litigator and legal educator launches the assault on segregation". America.gov. October 20, 2012. Archived from the original on February 28, 2010. Retrieved October 14, 2009.
  3. ^ "Charles Houston Bar Association Awards" Archived May 11, 2011, at the Wayback Machine, Price and Associates. Retrieved February 23, 2011.