Hidden Legal Figures
by Hidden Legal Figures
Few people know that legal and judicial efforts ensuring civil and human rights span the entirety of our nation’s history. Hidden Legal Figures rediscovers those untold stories and brings them into plain view in a way that is entertaining, educational, and compelling. Nationally recognized experts in law and history explore the heroic and vital contributions lawyers and judges made in American history, explain what that role meant to the nation then, and examine what it means for us today. Derrick Alexander Pope, J.D. hosts this critically acclaimed podcast.
Episodes
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Brothers-in-Law | Special Episode on Race and Justice
The deaths of unarmed black people have sparked nationwide demonstration and dialogue. Following in the tradition of the great civil rights lawyers like Thurgood Marshall, Constance Baker Motley, and countless others, there are legal warriors doing battle in courtrooms today and their voices are...
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A Prayer for Relief | Special Episode
Description: Special Commentary Episode regarding killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery Support The Podcast: If you enjoy Hidden Legal Figures The Podcast, you can support us by donating here and by leaving a review here. To contact us or learn more about The Arc of Justice...
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W. J. Michael ”Mike” Cody | A View from the Mountaintop
Description: On April 4, 1968, six lawyers came to the aid of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in a Federal District Court in Memphis, Tennessee. We visited W. J. Michael “Mike” Cody - one of the lawyers - in October 2019 at his law office in Memphis and he shared his remembrances of the untold legal...
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James Weldon Johnson | A Legal Renaissance
Description: This week, we shine the spotlight on James Weldon Johnson. Many know him as the author of Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing, but Johnson was also a lawyer and Executive Secretary of the NAACP. In September 1925, a black physician purchased a home in an all-white neighborhood in Detroit. On…
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Noah Parden | The Majesty of the Law | Part 4
Description: This week, Mark Curriden completes his discussion of the 1906 saga of Ed Johnson and the lawyer Noah Parden. Guest Bio: Mark Curriden Mark Curriden is a lawyer/journalist and founder of The Texas Lawbook. In addition, he is a contributing legal correspondent for The Houston Chronicle...
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Noah Parden | Order In The Court | Part 3
Description: In Part 3, Mark Curriden takes us inside the United States Supreme Court as the 1906 saga of the Ed Johnson case makes its way to the nation's highest Court and how Noah Parden and Styles Hitchins made legal history. Legal Figure Bio: Noah Walter Parden (c. 1868 – February 23, 1944)...
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Noah Parden | A Lawyer’s Appeal | Part 2
Description: This week we continue our discussion about one of the most important and little-known cases in American history, the case of Ed Johnson, who in 1906 was falsely accused of rape in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Legal Figure Bio: Noah Walter Parden (c. 1868 – February 23, 1944) was an…
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Noah Parden | Jailhouse Rock | Part 1
Description: This week Mark Curriden shares with us the compelling story of a 1906 legal drama that started with a false arrest for rape, a shameful trial that was chock full of abuse and gross injustice, and a lawyer named Noah Parden who along with the United States Supreme Court, made respect...
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Sadie Alexander | A Woman Like Her
Description: In this special episode closing out our commemoration of Women's History Month, we pay tribute to Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander, one of the most accomplished lawyers of the twentieth century. In 1918, she became the first woman to earn a Ph.D. (Economics) from the University of...
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Jane Bolin | Lady Judge
Description: In 1939, Jane Matilda Bolin became the first African American female judge in the nation's history. As a judge, serving forty years in the Domestic Relations Court in New York City, Judge Bolin made great strides in protecting the rights of children. In honor of Women's History…
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Lady Justice | Part 3
Description: Of the more than 250 cases she handled while at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, the James Meredith case was perhaps the most noteworthy effort by Constance Baker Motley. In this episode, we take an in-depth look at how the case started, some aspects that were unique to the case, and…
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Lady Justice | Part 2
Description: Constance Baker Motley was one of the most important civil rights lawyers of the twentieth century. Tapped by Thurgood Marshall early in 1945 to join the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, she was involved in more than 200 cases as either lead counsel or during the appeal of a case. In 1966,...
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Lady Justice
Description: Constance Baker Motley was one of the most important civil rights lawyers of the twentieth century. Tapped by Thurgood Marshall in 1945 to join the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, she was involved in more than 200 cases as either lead counsel or during the appeal of a case. In 1966, she...
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Special Black History Month Bonus Episode - Part 2 (For the Record Roll Call)
Description: For The Record Roll Call highlights some little known accomplishments made by black lawyers before Black History Month was established. Support The Podcast: If you enjoy Hidden Legal Figures The Podcast, you can support us by donating here and by leaving a review here. To contact us…
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Special Black History Month Episode | Perry Mason
Description: This week we find a hidden legal figure inside one of America's favorite TV legal dramas. On May 2nd, 1963 in "The Case of the Skeletons Closet", we find for the first time the appearance of an African American judge and his name was Vince Townsend, Jr Support The Podcast: If you…
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They Call Him Mr. Civil Rights | Donald Lee Hollowell | pt 2
Description: Donald Lee Hollowell was the one lawyer that Georgians would call on when their rights were being threatened. From his first case in 1952, all the way through his retirement in the early 90’s Hollowell’s name was synonymous with civil rights. In Part 2, his enduring legacy is…
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They Called Him Mr. Civil Rights | Donald Lee Hollowell, Pt. 1
Description: Donald Lee Hollowell was the one lawyer that Georgians would call on when their rights were being threatened. From his first case in 1952 all the way through his retirement in the early 90’s Hollowell’s name was synonymous with civil rights. In Part 1, the cases he handled are…
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Black to School - Part II
Description: In 1961, the fate of the nation's oldest public institution of higher learning hung in the balance. It would be up to one federal judge to rule on the question of equality in education. Mercer University Law Professor Pat Longan joins us to reflect on the life and career of Judge...
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Black To School
Description: In 1961, the fate of the nation's oldest public institution of higher learning hung in the balance. It would be up to one federal judge to rule on the question of equality in education. Mercer University Law Professor Pat Longan joins us to reflect on the life and career of Judge...
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Bonus Episode: A Tribute to Senator Leroy Johnson
Leroy Reginald Johnson was an American politician who served in the Georgia State Senate from 1963 to 1975 after winning a seat in 1962. He was the first black state senator to be elected to the legislature in more than fifty years, since William Rogers in 1907, and the first to be elected to the...
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A Holiday Message from Derrick A. Pope
A special Holiday message from Derrick A. Pope and the Hidden Legal Figures team. We want to hear from you! What has been your favorite Hidden Legal Figures episode so far? Click this link, leave us a review, and share your story with us! You can also support the show by visiting...
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Holiday Reflections: The Producer’s Cut
The holidays are approaching and we decided to do a "behind-the-scenes" special episode to share with you. We'll be discussing and giving our thoughts on how the podcast, the guests, and the stories have changed our lives for the better. During this season of reflection and renewal, we take a few...
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May I Take Your Order
As the Civil Rights Movement began to intensify, students all across the south staged lunch counter sit-ins. From Greensboro, North Carolina to Atlanta, Georgia lawyers aided them in their quest for justice. Professor Christopher Schmidt, author of The Sit-Ins: Protest and Legal Change in the…
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Prelude: May I Take Your Order
Sit-ins became a prominent part of the civil rights movement in the early 1960s, with the most famous occurring in Greensboro, North Carolina. But as a form of protest, it was first used in 1939 by a lawyer named Samuel Wilbert Tucker. Libraries in Alexandria, Virginia refused to issue library...
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Thanksgiving Message
Hidden Legal figures will be taking a short break this week in celebration of the Thanksgiving Holiday. But make sure you stay tuned next week for another great episode with Professor Christopher W. Schmidt of the Chicago-Kent College of Law. If you enjoy the podcast, you can rate and review by...
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The Back of the Bus Takes a Front Seat
The Montgomery Bus Boycott makes the nation come face-to-face with the rottenness of segregation and the Jim Crow south. For 380 days, black citizens of Montgomery, Alabama refused to ride the city buses. But it was a decision by the federal courts that gave them ultimate victory. Fred Grey, the...
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Prelude: The Back of the Bus Takes a Front Seat
The Montgomery Bus Boycott makes the nation come face-to-face with the rottenness of segregation and the Jim Crow south. For 380 days, black citizens of Montgomery, Alabama refused to ride the city buses. But it was a decision by the federal courts that gave them ultimate victory. Fred Grey, the...
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Brown v. Board of Education Series, Pt. 2: In Deliberate Speed
Charles S. Johnson, III returns to talk about Brown 1 and the two arguments the lawyers made in the Supreme Court and how Brown 2 continues to shape the landscape of higher education. If you enjoy the podcast, you can rate and review by clicking here. To contact us or learn more about The Arc of...
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Brown v. Board of Education Series, Pt. 1: Goodbye To Separate But Equal
The case of Brown v. Board of Education is perhaps the best-known lawsuit from the civil rights era. But how it started – and what it really meant – remains a mystery to this day. Legal historian and attorney Charles S. Johnson, III breaks down the beginnings of the four cases that were part of…
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Prelude: Brown v. Board of Education Series
The case of Brown v. Board of Education is perhaps the best-known lawsuit from the civil rights era. But how it started – and what it really meant – remains a mystery to this day. Legal historian and attorney Charles S. Johnson, III breaks down the beginnings of the four cases that were part of…
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Way Down South
Throughout the 1950's and 1960's, the American south was a cauldron of conflict. The civil rights movement was in its prime and the legal efforts to protect rights were front and center. This episode of Hidden Legal Figures is adapted from our educational program that was a part of the annual...
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Prelude: Way Down South
Throughout the 1950's and 1960's, the American south was a cauldron of conflict. The civil rights movement was in its prime and the legal efforts to protect rights were front and center. This episode of Hidden Legal Figures is adapted from our educational program that was a part of the annual...
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Introducing Hidden Legal Figures: Why a Podcast about Lawyers - Season 1 preview
Season 1 Preview "The law," said Woodrow Wilson, "is the crystallization of the habit and thought of society." Throughout our nation's history, our habits and thoughts often have been in conflict with each other and much of the American story is about how we have worked to resolve that tension....
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Hidden Legal Figures The Podcast | hosted by Derrick Alexander Pope J.D.
In 1962, one law professor said "the civil rights movement was the first revolution in history to be conducted on advice of counsel." The Arc of Justice Institute presents Hidden Legal Figures, the new podcast that shines a light on the legal efforts associated with one of the most pivotal…
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About this show
Few people know that legal and judicial efforts ensuring civil and human rights span the entirety of our nation’s history. Hidden Legal Figures rediscovers those untold stories and brings them into plain view in a way that is entertaining, educational, and compelling. Nationally recognized experts in law and history explore the heroic and vital contributions lawyers and judges made in American history, explain what that role meant to the nation then, and examine what it means for us today. Derrick Alexander Pope, J.D. hosts this critically acclaimed podcast.
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