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)

Law & Civil Rights: collage image
Law & Civil Rights

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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.

An alternative history

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Sources

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    Massachusetts Historical Society

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