Lutie Lytle facts for kids
Lutie A. Lytle (born November 19, 1875 – died November 12, 1955) was an important American lawyer. She was one of the very first African-American women to work in the legal field. In 1897, she was allowed to practice law in Tennessee. She also worked as a lawyer in Topeka, Kansas and Brooklyn, New York. A year later, in 1898, she became a teacher at the law school of her old college, Central Tennessee College of Law. This made her the first woman to teach law at a recognized law school.
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Early Life
Lutie A. Lytle was born in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. She was one of six children of John R. and Mary Ann "Mollie" Lytle, who had both been enslaved. In 1882, her family moved to Topeka, Kansas. They likely moved because many African Americans were leaving the South for the American West. This movement was known as the Exoduster movement.
John Lytle had many jobs, but he mostly worked as a barber. He ran his own shop with help from his son, Charles Clayton Lytle. Both John and Charles Lytle became active in local politics. They were members of the Populist Party, a political group that supported ordinary people. John Lytle even ran for the job of Topeka city jailor. Charles Lytle later became a Topeka policeman and rose to be Chief of Detectives. He also worked for the state and owned a drug store.
Becoming a Lawyer
Lutie Lytle went to schools in Topeka and graduated from Topeka High School. People said she was a very smart student. Her father, John Lytle, was active in politics. He used his influence to help Lutie get a good opportunity. In 1891, when the Populist Party gained power in Kansas, 16-year-old Lutie Lytle got a job. She became an assistant clerk for the Kansas legislature, which was controlled by the Populist Party. She did a great job in this position.
While working for the legislature, Lutie also wrote articles for a local African-American newspaper. She also worked as a compositor, which meant she helped set type for printing. During this time, Lutie started to dream bigger. She later said she realized many people, especially African Americans, didn't understand the law. She wanted to learn about law to help her community.
Lutie saved her money and went to Chattanooga, Tennessee to teach school. Then, she enrolled in the law program at Central Tennessee College in Nashville, Tennessee. In 1897, she graduated at the top of her class, as the valedictorian. She received a diploma that allowed her to practice law in Tennessee. Lutie also got a required certificate saying she had "good moral character." Her name was then added to the official records of the Criminal Court in Nashville. With this, Lutie Lytle became the first woman allowed to practice law in Tennessee.
In September 1897, Lutie returned to Topeka. There, she became the first African-American woman allowed to practice law in Kansas. At the time, some reports said she was the first black woman lawyer in the United States. However, it seems she was likely the third. Charlotte E. Ray and Mary Ann Shadd Cary came before her. But when Lutie was admitted to the Tennessee and Kansas state bars, Ray had stopped practicing law, and Shadd Cary had passed away. So, it was probably true, as her local newspaper reported, that she was "the first colored woman appointed to the bar in the West."
Teaching Law
After returning to Topeka, Lutie Lytle planned to start practicing law right away. But she felt she needed a rest first. In 1898, she went back to Central Tennessee College. This time, she joined the law school faculty as a teacher and also worked as a librarian. The newspapers claimed she was the first woman law professor in the United States. However, other women also started teaching law around the same time. Lutie taught there for one school year, until the spring of 1899.
First Marriage and Life in New York City
After leaving Nashville, Lutie Lytle returned to Kansas. She traveled around, giving talks about "Marriage and Divorce." In 1900, Lutie Lytle was teaching school in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The next year, on January 2, 1901, she married Alfred C. Cowan in Pittsburgh. Alfred was an African-American lawyer with an office in New York City. He had graduated from Boston University and New York Law School. He was allowed to practice law in New York in 1892 and had a busy law practice.
Lutie Lytle-Cowan was also admitted to the New York state bar. She then joined her husband's law practice. Even though his office was in Manhattan, the couple lived in a two-story home in Brooklyn, New York. They did not have any children. Alfred Cowan was very active in political and social groups. His wife, Lutie, was also very active. The local newspapers called her "the only colored lady lawyer in New York." She gave talks to women's groups and church groups. She also took part in programs to help black women in America, including the National Association of Colored Women. She often hosted important African-American professionals, religious leaders, and thinkers at her home. Their visits were often reported in the black newspapers.
For example, in 1911, an editor of a small newspaper wrote that "the colored women of New York City were mainly responsible for the immoral conditions of the city." Lutie Lytle-Cowan was the president of the Women's Civic Alliance. She led the protest against this unfair attack on women. When the editor tried to defend his writings, Mrs. Cowan spoke up. She said that while it was true some women were involved in places with a bad reputation, these places were often opened and supported by men. She argued that men were often responsible for the moral standing of women. She suggested that men in the city should set a higher standard for themselves and not try to bring women down.
Lutie and Alfred often went to the yearly meeting of what is now the National Bar Association. This is a group for African-American lawyers. Lutie was the first black woman to join this group. She and her husband were the first married couple to attend as lawyers. After Alfred died suddenly in September 1913, Lutie took over his law practice. She continued to work as a lawyer on her own for some time.
Second Marriage and Later Life
On July 10, 1916, Lutie Lytle-Cowan married Reverend Stephen Alexander McNeill. He was a minister in the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church. It seems she stopped practicing law after her second marriage. Reverend McNeill was from Robeson County, North Carolina. He had studied at Ohio Wesleyan University and Boston University. He served churches in places like Port Chester, New York and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania (Wesley Union AME Zion Church). In 1927, he became a presiding elder in his church. He passed away on March 26, 1934, in Peekskill, New York, shortly after giving a sermon.
After Reverend McNeill's death, his widow returned to Brooklyn, New York. She again referred to herself as Lutie Lytle-Cowan. She became involved in local politics, joining the Democratic Party. She was an active member of a local Democratic political group called the Regular Colored Democratic Association of Kings County. She also continued to be involved in local cultural activities. In 1940, she was appointed to the Brooklyn Women's Advisory Committee for the New York World's Fair. She helped plan "Brooklyn Day" at the fair, which happened on May 21, 1940. During the summer, Lutie Cowan was one of the "hostesses" who represented the committee at the fair.
See also
- List of first women lawyers and judges in Tennessee
