When we look back on that period in history when the civil rights movement was in the head lines. we think of Martin Luther King Jr, Adam Clayton Powel, Ralph Abernathy, Rosa Parks, and others. But there was also a very important person whom we never hear mentioned.
Someone had to be behind the scenes writing the laws and making the judgements.
There was Constance Baker Motley also.
Never heard of her? I know chances are you haven't. It was she who defended King in his court appearances.
There is a section of black history that still needs to be written. There are still unsung heroes we don't know about who came through the civil rights period.\
Motley is one of them. She was unique in many ways. First of all, women in her day were not lawyers. And they did not argue cases in front of white men. She helped in the desegregation of schools. She argues cases in court. She was an agent of change. She help get blacks into all white schools.
And she is not mentioned because she was first a black and second a woman.
This book is definitely a good addition to the record of history during the period of time that included 1946 through 1964.
She was a unifying force.
Born of parents who came from Nevis, British West Indies , Constance didn't let her limitations hold her back. She pursued law and became an influence, even if it was not noticed by us now. We need this book to remind us of a period of history and a light that dimly shone.
This is published by The University Of Alabama Press and copyrighted 2017. It is subtitled One Woman's Fight for Civil Rights and Equal Justice under Law. I highly recommend it.
