Constance Baker Motley

Motley was a lawyer, and decided on that profession at 15, when she went to a public beach and was turned away because she was black. She fought for civil rights as an attorney for the NAACP Legal and Educational Defense Fund for 20 years, plotting strategy for landmark legal cases including the 1954 Brown vs. Board of Education case that ended the "separate but equal" doctrine. Motley argued 10 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court -- and won nine of them. "If you are a master of the facts, a master of the record, and also master of the best argument the other side can make," said William T. Coleman Jr., former U.S. Secretary of Transportation, "you can usually prevail. And she did." Motley was the first black woman to argue before the Supreme Court, the first black woman to be appointed a federal judgeship, and the first black female New York state senator. She died September 28 from congestive heart failure. She was 84. From This is True for 25 September 2005 Suggestions for further reading: The Help by Kathryn Stockett Amazon Price: Customer Review: This is a great book, written from the point of view of three different people. it is not confusing when the author goes back and forth between the characters. The flow is smooth and easy to follow. I thought it was a great book and I highly recom...   Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide (Vintage) by Nicholas D. Kristof, Sheryl WuDunn Amazon Price: $9.32 Customer Review: If enough people read this book and responded by supporting either a group opf women or a single woman trying to stop the cycle of abuse and poverty that is the reality of their lives, a real change would occur that might set the stage for a true cul...   A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah Amazon Price: $8.49 Customer Review: We agree with the many professional reviewers whose quotes fill the first and last few pages of this book--the experiences told are amazing and young adults/teenagers can really benefit from learning of another person's struggles.   Rules for Radicals by Saul Alinsky Amazon Price: $10.08 Customer Review: I found the book still revevant despite being written 40 years ago. I don't agree with its content but thats why I bought it. Its probably useful to rearrange social structure.   We The People by Thomas Patterson Amazon Price: $86.85 Customer Review: This is a great book. I read it for my Pol 120 class in college and I was really impressed at how well it catagorized components. The Chapters were laid out logically with lots of visuals and examples. If you have to read a text the US Government, ...   Newsfeed display by CaRP

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