Matthew J. Perry

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Book cover of Matthew J. Perry: The Man, His Times, and His Legacy - by William Lewis Burke (Editor), Belinda F. Gergel (Editor), Randall L. Kennedy (Introduction).
Book cover of Matthew J. Perry: The Man, His Times, and His Legacy - by William Lewis Burke (Editor), Belinda F. Gergel (Editor), Randall L. Kennedy (Introduction).

Matthew James Perry, Jr. (b. in 1921 in Columbia, SC) became South Carolina's first African American U.S. District Court judge after being appointed by President Jimmy Carter in 1979 after President Gerald Ford made him the first black lawyer from the Deep South to be appointed to a federal bench with the United States Military Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C. He had previously led the successful court case to integrate Clemson University in 1963 and a tough South Carolina reapportionment case in 1972.

The courthouse in Columbia, South Carolina, is named after him, although Senator Strom Thurmond wanted it named after himself. [1] [2]

[edit] References

  1. ^ The Edisto 13: Racism, Justice, and a Reunion
  2. ^ Introduction of Judge Matthew J. Perry, Jr. Into the South Carolina Hall of Fame