Judge Patricia Millett serves on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, often referred to as the second most powerful court in the country due to its jurisdiction over federal regulatory and constitutional matters. Appointed by President Obama…
In 2022, Ketanji Brown Jackson made history as the first Black woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court—a long-overdue milestone in the Court’s 233-year history. Her nomination and confirmation were celebrated as a triumph of representation, but Jackson’s career…
Ruth Bader Ginsburg, affectionately known as “RBG,” was more than a Supreme Court Justice—she was a cultural icon and a legal revolutionary. Before joining the Court, Ginsburg built her career as a fierce advocate for gender equality, strategically reshaping constitutional…
Sandra Day O’Connor made history in 1981 as the first woman appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court. Nominated by President Ronald Reagan, her confirmation shattered a 191-year gender barrier and paved the way for greater gender diversity in the federal…
Mamie Till-Mobley never set out to be a civil rights leader, but her bravery and conviction helped ignite one of the most pivotal moments in American history. In 1955, her 14-year-old son, Emmett Till, was brutally lynched in Mississippi after…
Charles Hamilton Houston was the legal mastermind who paved the way for the end of segregation in America. Known as “the man who killed Jim Crow,” Houston trained an entire generation of civil rights lawyers — including Thurgood Marshall —…
A. Philip Randolph was a civil rights giant whose lifelong fight for racial and economic justice reshaped America’s labor movement. Born in 1889 in Florida, Randolph became a leading voice for Black workers and a champion of civil rights through…
Pauli Murray was a legal pioneer, civil rights activist, feminist, and Episcopal priest whose work profoundly shaped American legal thought—yet she remains underrecognized in history books. Born in 1910 in Baltimore, Murray broke barriers as a Black woman and gender…
Cesar Chavez was a groundbreaking civil rights and labor leader who brought national attention to the plight of farmworkers—one of the most marginalized labor forces in the U.S. Born in 1927 to a Mexican American family in Arizona, Chavez became…
Barbara Jordan was a brilliant orator, constitutional scholar, and a pioneering Black woman in American politics. Born in 1936 in Houston, Texas, she rose to prominence as the first African American woman elected to the Texas State Senate and later,…