For an ordinary, small-town lawyer, he accomplished incredible things. He reached heights one wouldn't expect of an African-American lawyer -- or any lawyer coming from his background. And these days, no one knows it. |
He didn't do much arguing of the case, but probably did a lot of the research. And then, for the Supreme Court, he even had his train ticket, but was told not to go. It must have been crushing. |
It was just a wonderful mystery in many respects. |
The big surprises were how many there were, and how far back they went. In learning about the names of the lawyers, I started thinking about what it must have been like. |
The heyday was Reconstruction, really. And then, starting about 1890, Arkansas imposed statutes that forced black people out of public office and made it impossible to vote -- Jim Crow laws -- and I just started to be amazed. |
There's a lot of frustration that goes on with this kind of research. |
Toward the 1890s, you start seeing more lawyers who are homegrown. Still, for many years, they couldn't get training in the South. |