WASHINGTON — Editor's Note: The video above was published in April 2022.
A civil rights pioneer judge from New Haven who went on to become the first Black woman to argue a case before the U.S. Supreme Court could potentially receive a posthumous Congressional Gold Medal.
Rep. Rosa DeLauro and several of her colleagues introduced new legislation – aptly called the Congressional Tribute to Constance Baker Motley Act of 2023 – that would honor the legacy of Judge Constance Baker Motley. She was joined by Rep. James Clyburn from South Carolina, Rep. Gregory W. Meeks, Rep. Yvette D. Clarke, and Rep. Ritchie Torres from New York.
"Constance Baker Motley was a force," DeLauro said in a statement announcing the legislation. “As we celebrate Black History Month, awarding Baker Motley a Congressional Gold Medal would be more than well-deserved. Her perseverance and determination led to many hard-won legal victories for civil rights and she set the path for so many who followed her.
Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy have introduced a similar bill in the U.S. Senate.
“Constance Baker Motley was a civil rights trailblazer and legal hero,” said Blumenthal. “A lifelong advocate for justice and equality, she dedicated her career to ensuring our Constitution’s ideals and protections applied to all Americans. Awarding her the Congressional Gold Medal will honor the impact she had on our nation’s history, the barriers she broke, and the generations she inspired.”
Who was Judge Constance Baker Motley?
Motley was born in New Haven on Sept. 14, 1921, the ninth of 12 children. Her parents, Rachel Huggins and McCullough Alva Baker, were immigrants from the Caribbean island of Nevis.
She attended Hillhouse High School in New Haven, graduating with honors in 1939; however, she lacked the financial means to attend college.
However, due to her already budding activism with the New Haven NAACP youth council, she impressed local businessman Clarence Blakeslee, who agreed to pay for her education.
Motley attended Fisk University, a historically Black college in Nashville, Tennessee, before transferring to New York University. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics in 1943 and then went on to receive her Bachelor of Law from Columbia Law School in 1946.
While studying law, Motley joined the legal staff with the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, eventually becoming one of the lead strategists for most of the major Southern civil rights protests.
During her time with the NAACP, she wrote the initial complaint in the case that would become the landmark Brown v. Board of Education, which sparked a 1954 Supreme Court ruling outlawing school segregation.
In 1961, she became the first Black woman to argue a case before the Supreme Court.
By the time she left the NAACP in 1965, Motley had argued 10 Supreme Court cases – winning nine – and assisted in nearly 60 cases that reached the nation’s highest court. The 10th case was eventually overturned in her favor.
Perhaps her most famous case was helping James Meredith, with the backing of the Fifth Court of Appeals, gain enrollment at the University of Mississippi.
After nearly 20 years with the NAACP, Motley chose to serve on the New York State Senate, becoming the first Black woman to serve in that branch of the Legislature. A year later she was elected President of the Borough of Manhattan, becoming the first woman to hold the position.
Motley was appointed in 1966 by President Lyndon Johnson to the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of New York. With this appointment – which was fiercely contested by a group of Southern senators – she became the country’s first Black female federal judge.
Motley went on to become Chief Judge of the court in 1982 and Senior Judge in 1986.
In 1993, she was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame. President Bill Clinton awarded her the Presidential Citizen’s Medal in 2001.
Motley died in New York on September 28, 2005.
Long-overdue Recognition
This is the second time DeLauro and her Congressional colleagues have introduced a bill in hopes of delivering the late judge some well-deserved recognition. Last year, they introduced the Congressional Tribute to Constance Baker Motley Act of 2022. It was not passed.
“I remember Constance Baker Motley as an astute political strategist and a woman of firsts,” Clyburn said in a statement. “Constance Baker Motley was a trailblazer and should be celebrated as such. I am pleased to join my colleagues in honoring her legacy with the Congressional Gold Medal.”
Meeks said: “To have an official Congressional tribute for Motley would be a shining moment on her legacy.”
Other Black Americans who have been awarded the Congressional Gold Medal include the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Coretta Scott King, Rosa Parks, Jackie Robinson, the Little Rock Nine, the foot soldiers who participated in the Bloody Sunday March from Selma to Montgomery, Jesse Owens, and Nelson Mandela.
The legislation in the Senate was also co-sponsored by Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Bob Casey (D-PA), Susan Collins (R-ME), Chris Coons (D-DE), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), John Kennedy (R-LA), Angus King (I-ME), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Patty Murray (D-WA), Jon Ossoff (D-GA), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Jack Reed (D-RI), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Ron Wyden (D-OR).
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