Allen, Macon Bolling
1816-1894 · Contribution: 1847
Law & Civil Rights
First African American lawyer in the United States (1844); among the earliest Black judicial officeholders (Justice of the Peace, 1847)
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Quick facts
- Born
- 1816-1894
- Category
- Law & Civil Rights
Impact on the world
Allen broke the color line of the American legal profession, proving a Black man could be admitted to the bar and hold judicial office generations before civil rights law existed.
Sources
- Massachusetts Historical Society
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