William Robert Ming facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Captain
William Robert Ming Jr.
|
|
|---|---|
William Robert Ming Jr.
|
|
| Birth name | William Robert Ming Jr. |
| Born | May 7, 1911 Chicago Illinois, US |
| Died | June 30, 1973 (aged 62) Chicago Illinois, US |
| Buried |
Crown Hill Cemetery, Indianapolis, Indiana, Marion County, Indiana
|
| Allegiance | United States of America |
| Service/ |
United States Army United States Army Judge Advocate General's Corps |
| Years of service | 1941–1945ing |
| Rank | Captain |
| Unit | 332nd Fighter Group |
| Awards | |
| Alma mater | University of Chicago |
| Spouse(s) |
Irvena Ming
(m. 1941) |
| Relations | |
| Other work | Civil rights attorney and law professor |
William Robert Ming Jr. (May 7, 1911 – June 30, 1973) was an important American lawyer and professor. He worked for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). He is best known for being part of the legal team for the famous Brown v. Board of Education case. This case led the U.S. Supreme Court to rule that racial segregation in schools was against the law.
Contents
Early Life and Education
William Ming Jr. was born on May 7, 1911. His parents were Annie and William Ming Sr. His father worked for the city in South Side Chicago.
William worked hard to pay for his education. He was a grocery clerk and worked on wrecking crews. He attended the University of Chicago. In 1930, he joined the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity there.
He earned his first degree in 1931. Then, he got his law degree (J.D.) in 1933 from the University of Chicago Law School. He was a top student. He was also one of the first African Americans to be part of a law review. His writings were even in the very first issue of the University of Chicago Law Review.
Legal Career and Civil Rights Work
William Ming Jr. became a lawyer in 1933. He worked as a lawyer for both the government and private clients.
Military Service and the Tuskegee Airmen
Ming volunteered to serve in the United States Army. He joined the Judge Advocates General Corp. This part of the Army deals with legal matters. He rose to the rank of captain.
Before his service, in 1941, Ming tried to stop the creation of a separate Black fighter group in the U.S. Army Air Corps. This group became known as the Tuskegee Airmen. He supported a lawsuit by a Black man who was not allowed to train as a pilot.
Freeman Field Mutiny Role
Ming was one of ten officers who oversaw the Freeman Field mutiny Court-Martials. These were trials for soldiers who protested unfair rules. General Frank O'Driscoll Hunter chose these officers.
The officers included Colonel Benjamin O. Davis Jr., Captain George L. Knox II, and Captain James T. Wiley. Others were Captain John H. Duren, Captain Charles R. Stanton, Captain William T. Yates, Captain Elmore M. Kennedy, Captain Fitzroy Newsum, 1st Lieutenant William Robert Ming Jr., and 1st Lieutenant James Y. Carter.
Fighting Segregation in Court
Ming was a key person in the legal plan that led to the famous Brown v. Board of Education decision. This ruling by the Supreme Court said that separate schools for Black and white students were illegal.
He also worked on other important cases that helped lead to Brown. These included:
- Shelley v. Kraemer: This case made it illegal for states to enforce housing rules that kept people of different races apart.
- Sweatt v. Painter and McLaurin v. Oklahoma State Regents: These cases said that having separate facilities for Black students in state universities was illegal if they were not truly equal.
Ming also helped with other important court decisions:
- NAACP v. Alabama: This case protected the NAACP from having to share its membership lists.
- Sipuel v. Board of Regents: This case stopped the exclusion of qualified Black students from all-white state law schools.
- Missouri ex rel Gaines v. Canada: This case ruled that if a state provided a school for white students, it had to provide the same education for Black students within the state.
Defending Martin Luther King Jr.
In May 1960, William Ming Jr. helped defend Martin Luther King Jr. in a trial in Montgomery, Alabama. King was accused of lying about his taxes. Ming helped King win the case, even with an all-white jury.
An Alabama lawyer, who admired Ming, said, "Negro or not, he is a master of the law." Martin Luther King Jr. himself called the trial a "turning point" in his life. He praised Ming and his other lawyer, Hubert Thomas Delany. King said they showed "wisdom, courage, and a highly developed art of advocacy."
King's wife, Coretta Scott King, later called the acquittal a "triumph of justice." She said it was "a miracle that restored your faith in human good."
Important Organizations
Besides his court work, Ming was involved in many groups. He served as a lawyer for the ACLU. He was also president of the National Veterans Organization. He worked for the Illinois Commerce Commission. He was a member of the Chicago NAACP Branch and the Illinois state Conference of the NAACP. He also served on the NAACP National Board of Directors.
Teaching Law
Ming was a law professor at two universities. He taught at Howard University School of Law and University of Chicago Law School. At the University of Chicago, he taught from 1947 to 1953. He was the first African American full-time faculty member at a mostly white law school.
Death and Legacy
William Robert Ming Jr. passed away in a hospital in Chicago on June 30, 1973.
His colleague, Robert L. Tucker, said that Ming spent his most important years fighting for the Civil Rights Movement.
In April 1974, the NAACP created the William Robert Ming Advocacy Award. This award is given every year to a lawyer who shows the same dedication and sacrifice that Mr. Ming did in his legal work for the NAACP.
