Wright, Jonathan Jasper
1840-1885 · Contribution: 1870
First African American to serve on a state supreme court
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Impact on the world
Became the first African American to sit on a state supreme court, serving on the South Carolina Supreme Court starting in 1870, just five years after the end of the Civil War.
Life & background
An attorney admitted to the bar in 1865, Wright became the first African American to serve on a state supreme court when he joined the South Carolina Supreme Court in 1870, a landmark achievement during the early Reconstruction era.
Sources
- Brennan Center for Justice (America's First Black State Supreme Court Justice); South Carolina Encyclopedia; South Carolina Historical Society
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