One of the most influential figures in African American life between the two world wars was Charles Hamilton Houston. The Charles Houston Bar Association and the, This page was last edited on 17 December 2020, at 13:57. CHARLES HAMILTON HOUSTON: A GALLERY [Many of the images in this collection can be viewed at full size by clicking on them.] Houston was born in Washington, D.C., to a middle-class family who lived in the Striver section. He was later to write: The hate and scorn showered on us Negro officers by our fellow Americans convinced me that there was no sense in my dying for a world ruled by them. Charles Hamilton Houston was the principal attorney for the NAACP. [16][17][18] Ten members of the firm advanced to become judges, including Theodore Newman, Wendell Gardner, Jr., the son of Wendell Gardner; and Emmet Sullivan. Current Projects. He was sentenced to life in prison, where he died in 1950. At one point Houston had carried a movie camera as he traveled across South Carolina, in order to document the inequalities of facilities, materials and teachers' salaries between African-American and white education. [18][19][17], Houston's efforts to dismantle the legal theory of "separate but equal" were completed after his death in 1950 with the historic Brown v. Board of Education (1954) ruling, which prohibited segregation in public schools. Houston was born in Washington, D.C., to a middle-class family who lived in the Striver section. The Charles Hamilton Houston Foundation, Inc. is a empowerment and advocacy nonprofit organization working to improve college and career access for all students of color. Charles Hamilton Houston. After graduation, Houston went on to teach 2 years at Howard University before enlisting in the United States Army. He orchestrated a campaign to force southern districts to build facilities for blacks equal to those for whites, or to integrate their facilities. -Charles Hamilton Houston Charles with his Father and Mother Charles Houston grew up in a middle-class family in Washington, D.C. His father, William Le Pre Houston, was an attorney, and his mother, Mary Hamilton Houston, a seamstress. [21], Houston died from a heart attack on April 22, 1950, at the age of 54.[22]. Houston was also a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity. Wählen Sie aus erstklassigen Inhalten zum Thema Charles Hamilton Houston in höchster Qualität. Bringing prominent attorneys to the school as speakers and to build a law network for his students, Houston served as a mentor to a generation. [14], Houston founded a law firm, Houston & Gardner, with Wendell P. Gardner, Sr. Charles' mother, Mary (née Hamilton) Houston, worked as a seamstress. Speaking is Charles … All Rights Reserved. "[21] Houston's use of sociological materials in these cases lay the groundwork for the approach and ruling in Brown v. Board of Education (1954). He returned to D.C. and taught English at Howard University, a historically black college. Harvard Symposium Examines Charles Hamilton Houston’s Enduring Legacy. He was the first black student elected to the editorial board of the Harvard Law Review and graduated cum laude. Houston went to Dunbar High School. Born September 3,1895, in Washington, DC; died of a heart attack, April 22,1950; son of William (a lawyer) and Mary (a teacher, hairdresser, and seamstress) Hamilton; married Margaret Gladys Moran, August 23, 1924 (divorced, 1937); married Henrietta Williams, September 14, 1937; children: Charles, Jr. Education: They divorced in 1937. Real estate developers and agents developed restrictive covenants and deeds. [8] Houston believed that the law could be used to fight racial discrimination and encouraged his students to work for such social purpose. Research encourages more support for Black and Hispanic male educational attainment. We Came to Learn: A Call to Action for Police-Free Schools, CHHIRJ Proposal Selected for Radcliffe Exploratory Seminar. [9] In Missouri ex rel. Education has always been the bellwether for inequality, not only in outcomes but in defining trajectory. Houston played a significant role in dismantling the Jim Crow laws, which earned him the title "The Man Who Killed Jim Crow". A scholar and lawyer, he dedicated his life to freeing his people from the bonds of racism. Search for innovative approaches that are actually being used to rebuild. Juanita Kidd Stout described Houston's strategy related to segregated schools: When he attacked the "separate but equal" theory his real thought behind it was that "All right, if you want it separate but equal, I will make it so expensive for it to be separate that you will have to abandon your separateness." 1545 Massachusetts Ave. He defended African-American George Crawford on charges of murder in Loudoun County, Virginia, in 1933, and saved him from the electric chair. Through his work at the NAACP, Houston played a role in nearly every civil rights case that reached the US Supreme Court between 1930 and Brown v. Board of Education (1954). He studied at Amherst College beginning in 1911, was elected to the Phi Beta Kappa honor society,[1] and graduated as valedictorian in 1915, the only black student in his class. While arguing Brown v. Board of Education, Houston took a camera throughout South Carolina to identify examples of inequality existing … He studied at Amherst College beginning in 1911, was elected to the Phi Beta Kappahonor s… Charles Hamilton Houston Foundation, Inc. Education Management Transforming the Academic & Professional Success for Boys & Young Men of Color. When attorney Charles Hamilton Houston wanted show the inequality of segregation, he did not only present arguments in a courtroom. After being chastised for, during a brief detail as a Judge Advocate, finding a Black sergeant not worthy of prosecution, Houston wrote later: The hate and scorn showered on us Negro officers by our fellow Americans convinced me that there was no sense in my dying for a world ruled by them. He was born to a practicing lawyer father William Le Pre Houston, and Mary Houston. 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