Harris County Law Library
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First officially recognized in 1976 by President Gerald Ford, Black History Month was intended to “honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of Black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history.” The theme of 2021 is “The Black Family: Representation, Identity, and Diversity.” Select “Read More” for more background and ways to celebrate this month.
Read moreIn honor of National Hispanic Heritage Month, which today enters its final week, we are shining a spotlight on four important Hispanic activists who are not attorneys, but who have had an impact on United States law.
Joan Baez, the daughter of a prominent Mexican-American physicist, was born on Staten Island in 1941. In her late teens, she found herself immersed in the deeply political folk music scene of Cambridge, Massachusetts. Her debut album was released by Vanguard Records 60 years ago this month. In 1963, she entered households all over America through her performance of We Shall Overcome at the March on Washington. As discussed in No Direction Home, Baez radicalized Bob Dylan and introduced him to the folk scene. Often through interpretation of his songs, Baez and Dylan together created an iconic soundtrack to various political movements, including draft reform and lowering the age to vote. Baez has worked tirelessly for a wide variety of civil rights causes in the decades since, and these days posts images of her politically-charged paintings to her official Instagram as she continues to shape policy changes through her compelling art.
Raffi Freedman-Gurspan is not a lawyer, but has influenced the law as an LGBT activist and a White House staffer during the Obama administration. Born in Honduras in 1987, she was adopted by Americans as an infant, and raised in Brookline, an urban town that borders Boston. After a rise to prominence working with the National Center for Transgender Equality, Freedman-Gurspan accepted a position under President Obama as the Senior Associate Director for Public Engagement and the White House LGBT Community Liason. The Obama administration oversaw numerous regulatory changes that improved legal outcomes for transgender Americans. For example, prior to Freedman-Guspan’s tenure, in 2010 the Housing and Urban Development regulatory guidelines were updated to include transgender people under the Fair Housing Act protections against discrimination based on sex. Freedman-Guspan is currently a leader in the fight to reform gerrymandering laws, as a Deputy Director at All On the Line.
Dolores Huerta may be 90, but she remains an active advocate for labor reform and civil rights improvements. She may be best known for co-founding the National Farm Workers Association with Cesar Chavez in 1962. Huerta had previously founded the Agricultural Workers Association. Though originally from New Mexico, Huerta is now closely associated with California. One of the first successful campaigns she worked on was the 1960 effort to get California to provide its driver licensure exam in Spanish. Her decades of activism and lobbying efforts were crucial to the passage of the California Agricultural Labor Relations Act of 1975, a national labor law landmark. In 2002, she founded the Dolores Huerta Foundation, which promotes civic engagement so that average citizens can impact the legislative process through which laws are created.
Sylvia Mendez started her life as an activist at age 8, as the plaintiff in Mendez v. Westminister School Dist., 64 F. Supp. 544 - Dist. Court, SD California 1946. In that monumental case, the Ninth Circuit held that the policy of segregation in public schools was unconstitutional, paving the way for the 1954 ruling in Brown v. Board of Education. Mendez was among the first Hispanic students to attend a previously “all-white” public school in California. In 2011, President Obama awarded her a Presidential Medal of Freedom. Now age 84, she continues to speak out about her important experience as a young civil rights pioneer.
National African American History Month traces its roots to efforts made by historian and founder of the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, Dr. Carter G. Woodson. In 1926, Dr. Woodson instituted the first Negro History Week in February 1926, a week that coincided with the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. More than 50 years later, it was expanded to Black History Month or African American History Month.
In honor of National African American History Month, the Harris County Law Library created a digital exhibit celebrating the life and legacy of Justice Thurgood Marshall, the first African American to serve on the country’s highest court. The exhibit highlights his career as a civil rights attorney, as Solicitor General, and as Supreme Court Justice. For those of you who are fortunate to visit our library, you can view an exhibit commemorating Justice Marshall’s extraordinary life in the Law Library lobby.
If you are interested in learning more about African American history and the notable life of Justice Thurgood Marshall, please see these digital resources:
United States Courts (“Justice Thurgood Marshall Profile – Brown v. Board of Education Reenactment”)
Thurgood Marshall Center for Service and Heritage
Constitution Daily (“Thurgood Marshall’s Unique Supreme Court Legacy”)
In 1925, the historian, Carter G. Woodson, called for a week-long celebration to recognize the contributions of African Americans in the development of our country. Negro History Week was celebrated for the first time in 1926 and expanded to a full month in 1976, the year of our nation's sesquicentennial. President Gerald R. Ford urged Americans to "seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history."
This year, the tradition continues. In the presidential proclamation issued by the White House on January 31, 2018, a special theme was designated commemorating the contributions of African Americans in Times of War. To educate and inform the public about the significant contributions of African Americans in combat, the National Archives has assembled an extensive list of resources called Blacks in the Military.
We at the Harris County Law Library hope to do our part in honoring National African American History Month. We'd like to call greater attention to the many notable African Americans who have played such crucial roles in shaping the law and achieving civil rights. With a special exhibit, we honor the first African American to rise to the bench of the U.S. Supreme Court and perhaps the most influential African American lawyer in U.S. history -- Justice Thurgood Marshall.
An exhibit commemorating the extraordinary life of Justice Marshall will be on display in the Law Library lobby throughout the month, and a digital exhibit is available on the Law Library's website.
For additional digital resources celebrating African American history and the remarkable life of Justice Thurgood Marshall, please visit the following sites:
Biography.com -- Thurgood Marshall: A Justice for All (VIDEO)
Thurgood Marshall Center for Service and Heritage
Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture
In 1925, the historian, Carter G. Woodson, called for a week-long celebration to recognize the contributions of African Americans in the development of our country. Negro History Week was celebrated for the first time 1926 and expanded to a full month in 1976, the year of our nation's sesquicentennial. President Gerald R. Ford urged Americans to "seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history."
Many notable African Americans have played a role in shaping the law and achieving civil rights. With this exhibit, we honor perhaps the most influential African American lawyer in U.S. history and the first African American to rise to the bench of the U.S. Supreme Court -- Justice Thurgood Marshall.
An exhibit commemorating the extraordinary life of Justice Marshall, will be on display in the Law Library lobby throughout the month, and a digital exhibit, the subject of today's Tech Tuesday blog post, is available on the Law Library's website. For additional digital resources celebrating African American history and the remarkable life of Justice Thurgood Marshall, please visit the following sites:
Biography.com -- Thurgood Marshall: A Justice for All (VIDEO)
Thurgood Marshall Center for Service and Heritage
Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture
What’s behind the name? “Ex Libris Juris” is Latin for “from the books of law” and much of the information here will relate to the legal information collected and curated by the Law Library. Additionally, “Ex Libris” has long appeared on bookplates – labels appearing inside the front cover of books – and has acquired the connoted meaning “from the library of” to show ownership of the book. Using this connotation, the phrase becomes “from the library of law” and better describes the posts about digital resources, event announcements, and research tips that will regularly appear here.
