Wiley W. Manuel (1927-1981)

Wiley W. Manuel (1927-1981)

Wiley William Manuel, the first African American to serve on the Supreme Court of the State of California, was the son of a railroad dining car waiter, and a domestic worker.  He was born on August 28, 1927 in an impoverished area of Oakland, California and attended...
Harold A. Stevens (1907-1990)

Harold A. Stevens (1907-1990)

With his appointment in 1955 as the first African American to serve on the New York State Supreme Court, Harold Arnoldus Stevens continued a string of firsts that began in 1950 when he was elected to the New York Court of General Sessions, becoming the first African...
Morris Overstreet (1950-2024)

Morris Overstreet (1950-2024)

Morris Overstreet was the first African American in Texas state history to be elected to a statewide office and the second (after Judge Louis Sturns) to sit on one of the two highest courts in the state, the Texas Criminal Court of Appeals. Overstreet was born on July...
Reuben V. Anderson (1943- )

Reuben V. Anderson (1943- )

Mississippi attorney and jurist Reuben V. Anderson had a series of “firsts” in his career.  On January 16, 1985, he was sworn as the first African American Supreme Court Justice in the state of Mississippi, a position he held until his retirement from the bench in...