Ernest A. Finney Jr. facts for kids

Ernest Adolphus Finney Jr. (born March 23, 1931 – died December 3, 2017) was a very important judge in South Carolina. He made history as the first African-American person to become a Supreme Court Justice in South Carolina since the time after the Civil War, known as the Reconstruction Era. He lived his later years in Sumter, South Carolina. He was also a member of the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity.

Early Life and Education

Ernest Finney Jr. was born in Smithfield, Virginia. His mother passed away when he was just ten days old. So, his father, Dr. Ernest A. Finney Sr., raised him.

He went to Claflin College and earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1952. After that, he studied law at South Carolina State College and graduated in 1954.

At first, it was hard for him to find a job as a lawyer. So, he became a teacher, just like his father. In 1960, he moved to Sumter and started his own law practice.

Legal Career and Public Service

In 1961, Mr. Finney helped a group of students known as the Friendship Nine. These students were arrested for trying to end segregation at a lunch counter in Rock Hill, South Carolina. Segregation was a system that kept Black and white people separate.

In 1963, he led the South Carolina Commission on Civil Rights. This group worked to protect people's rights. In 1972, he was elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives. He was the first African-American person to serve on the important House Judiciary Committee.

Mr. Finney also helped start the Legislative Black Caucus. He was its first leader from 1973 to 1975. This group worked to represent the interests of African-American citizens.

In 1976, he was elected as South Carolina's first Black circuit judge. This was a big step forward. He then joined the state Supreme Court in 1985. In May 1994, he was chosen to be the Chief Justice of the State Supreme Court. He started this role in December 1994. This made him the first African-American Chief Justice in South Carolina since the Reconstruction Era.

He retired from the Supreme Court in 2000. Later, in 2002, he became the temporary president of South Carolina State University. In 2015, he again represented the surviving members of the Friendship Nine. Their old convictions were finally overturned in court.

Awards and Honors

Ernest Finney Jr. received many awards for his important work.

• He was part of the National College of State Trial Judges in 1977.
• He received honorary Doctor of Laws degrees from The Citadel and Johnson C. Smith University in 1995.
• In 1996, he earned a Doctor of Humane Letters from SC State University.
• He also received a Doctor of Laws from Morris College in 1996.
• Claflin University also gave him a doctorate degree.
• The S.C. Trial Lawyers Association honored him in 1993.

Later Life and Family

Ernest Finney Jr. passed away on December 3, 2017, in Columbia, South Carolina. He was 86 years old.

His daughter, Nikky Finney, is a well-known poet and a professor at the University of South Carolina.

His son, Ernest A. Finney III, worked as a solicitor for the state of South Carolina.

Another son, Jerry Finney Sr., runs his own law firm in Columbia. He helps people with various legal matters.

See also

• List of African-American jurists
• List of first minority male lawyers and judges in South Carolina