Newsroom

In celebration of Black History Month, the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) is honoring black legal minds in the United States who have advanced civil rights and continue to inspire advocates to dismantle systems of oppression and work for a better tomorrow.   

Charles Hamilton Houston

“I made up my mind that if I got through [World War I], I would study law and use my time fighting for men who could not strike back.” – Charles Hamilton Houston

In 1896, the Supreme Court’s Plessy v. Ferguson decision upheld state laws requiring racial segregation in public accommodations under the “separate but equal” doctrine. These laws—known as Jim Crow laws—required separate facilities or sections for black and white Americans in public schools, transportation, and other accommodations and services.

Dismantling those laws took decades of legal work – and one of the intellectual fathers of the strategy to do so was a brilliant attorney and D.C. native named Charles Hamilton Houston. Houston was the dean of Howard University Law School and built it into a powerhouse of legal mentorship, ultimately training many of the lawyers who would lead the Civil Rights Movement. He also became the first Special Counsel for the NAACP and helped craft the legal strategy that ultimately brought down Jim Crow segregation.

Houston saw the inequality in school segregation as one of the best test cases for attacking the Jim Crow regime. He was an important participant in almost every civil rights case that made it to the Supreme Court between 1930 and 1950, fighting to ensure African American students received equal academic opportunities and access to proper education. Although Charles Hamilton Houston did not live to see Plessy v. Ferguson overturned in the landmark 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision, he is famously known in history as “The Man Who Killed Jim Crow.”

Despite advancing the cause of equality over the last century, there are still too many racial disparities in the U.S.. The Office of the Attorney General works to address these disparities in the criminal justice system and to set District residents up to succeed. Our office  advocates for innovative programs like the Alternatives to Court Experience program, which diverts young people from the criminal justice system and gives them an opportunity to get their lives on the right track, and anti-truancy programs such as OAG’s “I Belong Here” program, which helps keeps kids in school and out of trouble with the law. OAG also supports investing in mental and behavioral health services for children and adults that will tackle the root causes of crime and put young people on a path to success.

Ending these disparities is a collective effort, and it is incumbent upon everyone to not just reflect upon our history this month, but to resolve to make history by fighting for a better tomorrow. Celebrate Black History Month by learning about our history, learning about your neighbors, and identifying how you can help to improve the lives of others and of your community.