Otis M. Smith (1922-1994)

Otis M. Smith (1922-1994)

Otis Milton Smith became the first black justice on the Michigan Supreme Court in 1961, and served on the court until 1966. Smith was also the first black corporate officer of the General Motors Corporation, where he worked as general counsel, vice president, and...
Charles Edward Freeman (1933- )

Charles Edward Freeman (1933- )

Charles E. Freeman is the first and only African American to serve on the State of Illinois Supreme Court, representing the First Judicial District of Illinois. Freeman was born in 1933 in Richmond, Virginia.  A 1954 graduate of Virginia Union University in Richmond,...
Myra Consetta Selby (1955- )

Myra Consetta Selby (1955- )

Myra Consetta Selby has served as both the first African American and first female associate justice appointed to the Indiana Supreme Court.  Selby was born in 1955 in Bay City, Michigan. Selby’s father, the late Ralph L. Selby, worked as an attorney; her mother...
Frank Lucas (1930-2019)

Frank Lucas (1930-2019)

As one of the country’s most notorious gangsters and drug kingpins, Frank Lucas led a very public life, even having his story depicted in the film American Gangster. Lucas was born to Mahalee Jones Lucas and Fred Lucas, on September 9, 1930 in La Grange, North...