Charles Hamilton Houston facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Charles Hamilton Houston
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Charles Hamilton Houston
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| Born | September 3, 1895 Washington, D.C., U.S.
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| Died | April 22, 1950 (aged 54) Washington, D.C., U.S.
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| Alma mater | Amherst College Harvard Law School |
| Occupation | Lawyer |
Charles Hamilton Houston (September 3, 1895 – April 22, 1950) was a very important African-American lawyer. He was the Dean of Howard University Law School and the first special lawyer for the NAACP. The NAACP is a group that fights for the rights of African Americans.
Houston went to Amherst College and Harvard Law School. He played a big part in ending Jim Crow laws. These were unfair laws that kept Black people separate from white people. He especially worked to stop segregation in schools and unfair housing rules. People called him "The Man Who Killed Jim Crow" because of his important work.
Houston also taught and guided many Black lawyers, including Thurgood Marshall. Thurgood Marshall later became the first Black Justice on the U.S. Supreme Court. Houston helped build strong connections between law schools at Howard and Harvard universities. He did this to support civil rights cases.
Contents
Biography
Early Life and Education
Charles Hamilton Houston was born in Washington, D.C. in 1895. His family was middle-class. His father, William Le Pré Houston, was a lawyer. His mother, Mary Houston, worked as a seamstress.
Charles went to segregated local schools. He graduated from Dunbar High School. In 1911, he started studying at Amherst College. He was a top student and graduated in 1915. He was the only Black student in his class. After college, he taught English at Howard University.
World War I Experience
When the U.S. joined World War I, Houston became an officer in the U.S. Army. The military was also racially segregated at that time. From 1917 to 1919, he served as a First Lieutenant in France.
Houston saw how Black officers were treated unfairly by white Americans. This experience made him decide to study law. He wanted to fight for people who could not fight for themselves. He later wrote: "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. I made up my mind that if I got through this war I would study law and use my time fighting for men who could not strike back."
Law School and Early Career
After the war, in 1919, Houston went to Harvard Law School. He was the first Black student chosen to be on the editorial board of the Harvard Law Review. He graduated with honors in 1922 and earned another law degree in 1923. He also studied in Spain for a year.
In 1924, he joined his father's law practice in Washington, D.C. In 1924, Houston married Gladys Moran. They divorced in 1937. He later married Henrietta Williams. They had one child, Charles Hamilton Houston, Jr., in 1940.
Fighting for Justice
Howard University and the NAACP
In 1925, several Black lawyers were not allowed to join the American Bar Association. So, they started their own group, the National Bar Association. Houston was a founding member.
From 1929 to 1935, Houston was the Vice-Dean and Dean of the Howard University School of Law. He taught many Black lawyers, including Thurgood Marshall. Houston believed that law could be used to fight unfair treatment. He encouraged his students to work for social change.
In 1935, Houston left Howard to work for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). He was their first special counsel until 1940. In this role, he created plans to fight unfair housing rules and segregated schools. He argued many important civil rights cases in front of the U.S. Supreme Court.
Houston's work at the NAACP was very important. He was involved in almost every major civil rights case that reached the U.S. Supreme Court between 1930 and the famous Brown v. Board of Education case in 1954.
Ending Unfair Juries
Houston worked to stop the unfair practice of keeping African Americans off juries, especially in the South. In 1933, he defended George Crawford, an African-American man, in a murder case in Virginia. Houston helped save him from the electric chair.
In another case, Hollins v. State of Oklahoma (1935), Houston led an all-Black legal team. They went to the U.S. Supreme Court to challenge a murder conviction. The defendant had been found guilty by an all-white jury. The Supreme Court agreed that the trial was unfair and ordered a new one.
At that time, many states in the South often stopped Black people from serving on juries. This was part of a larger system of unfair treatment.
Challenging "Separate but Equal"
Houston's main plan for public education was to show how "separate but equal" was not truly equal. This idea came from an old Supreme Court case, Plessy v. Ferguson (1897). Houston wanted to force Southern school districts to either build truly equal facilities for Black students or to integrate their schools. He focused on law schools first.
Houston also started his own law firm, Houston & Gardner. Many lawyers from his firm later became federal judges. This firm was respected, but the lawyers did not earn a lot of money.
Houston's work to end "separate but equal" was completed after his death. The historic Brown v. Board of Education ruling in 1954 said that segregation in public schools was against the law.
Death
Charles Hamilton Houston died from a heart attack on April 22, 1950. He was 54 years old.
Legacy and Honors
- In 1950, Houston was given the NAACP's Spingarn Medal after he passed away.
- In 1958, the main building of the Howard University School of Law was named Charles Hamilton Houston Hall.
- The Charles Houston Bar Association and the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice at Harvard Law School are named after him.
- The Washington Bar Association gives out the Charles Hamilton Houston Medallion of Merit each year. It honors someone who has continued Houston's work for justice.
- In 2002, a scholar named Molefi Kete Asante included Charles Hamilton Houston on his list of 100 Greatest African Americans.
See also
In Spanish: Charles Hamilton Houston para niños
