Cordell D. Meeks Sr. (September 25, 1914December 8, 1987) was the first black

District Court District courts are a category of courts which exists in several nations, some call them "small case court" usually as the lowest level of the hierarchy. These courts generally work under a higher court which exercises control over the lower co ...

judge in Kansas.

Biography

He was born in

Little Rock, Arkansas Little Rock is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Arkansas, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The city's population was 202,591 as of the 2020 census. The six-county Central Arkan ...

on September 25, 1914, to his parents Mossie Ella Meeks and Charles Arthur Meeks. He moved to Wyandotte County when he was thirteen. His father was a teacher and a Minister for the

Church of God in Christ The Church of God in Christ (COGIC) is an international Christian perfection#Holiness Pentecostalism, Holiness–Pentecostal Christian denomination, and a large Pentecostal denomination in the United States. Although an international and multi ...

and his mother was a missionary and a housewife. After the Stock Market Crash of 1929, his father left Kansas to look for work; although For a while he would send money and letters, he later stopped and eventually lost all contact with his family. Living in

Kansas City, Kansas Kansas City (commonly known as KCK) is the third-most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is an inner suburb of the older and more populous Kansas City, Missouri, after which it is named. As ...

, Meeks attended Northeast Jr. High School, which was the only Jr. High for black students in the city, and then Sumner High School, where he was elected president of his senior class. He had known since eighth grade that he wanted to be a lawyer, so after high school he studied politics at the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States. Two branch campuses are in the Kansas City metropolitan area on the Kansas side: the university's medical school and hospital ...

Lawrence, KS Lawrence is a city in and the county seat of Douglas County, Kansas, United States, and the sixth-largest city in the state. It is in the northeastern sector of the state, astride Interstate 70, between the Kansas and Wakarusa Rivers. As of th ...

. He went on to receive his L.L.B. and his Doctor of Jurisprudence from KU Law and graduated in 1939. During his time at KU, he worked on political campaigns and also spoke out against discrimination on campus He was the second black man elected to the Student Council and was elected President of his fraternity

Alpha Phi Alpha Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. () is the oldest intercollegiate List of African-American fraternities, historically African American Fraternities and sororities, fraternity. It was initially a literary and social studies club organized in the ...

. Years later, he became the Director of the University of Kansas National Alumni Association.

Career

In 1940 he opened a small law firm out of his own home in Kansas City, and continued to practice law for many years. Along with that he was Assistant County Attorney, County Commissioner for nineteen years, chairman of the county's Board for five years. He was elected to Board of Directors of the

National Association of Counties The National Association of Counties (NACo) is an organization that represents County (United States), county governments in the United States.

in 1969 and 1970. . He was the Vice President and Director of Douglas State Bank, was twice elected as delegate to the

Democratic National Convention The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 18 ...

, and was Trustee of AME Church. He was also the director of the Regional Health and Welfare Council, and he helped organize low-income housing in Kansas City called Gateway Plaza Homes and Gateway Plaza Homes East. In November 1972 he was elected the first black District Court Judge in Kansas and served two successive four-year terms. He wrote an autobiography''To Heaven Through Hell: An Autobiography of the First Black District Court Judge of Kansas, '' published in 1986 five years after he retired in 1980. Meeks married Cellastine Brown on December 22, 1940, and together they had four children: Marlene, Cordell Jr., Marcena, and Marquita. Cordell Jr. followed in his father's footsteps and became very active in law and politics. Marlene and Marcena were teachers and Marquita was a musician. He died on December 8, 1987. His wife compiled many of his papers and speeches and donated them to the Spencer Research Library at the University of Kansas in Lawrence.

References

*(1987, December 10). Cordell D. Meeks Sr., Kansas Judge, 73; Obituary. New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/1987/12/10/obituaries/cordell-d-meeks-sr-kansas-judge-73.html. *Boone, W.W.(1986). The History of Black Education in Kansas City, Kansas, Readin’, ‘Ritting, ‘Rithmetic, retrieved from https://web.archive.org/web/20120817232613/http://www.kckps.org/disthistory/dist-history/bios/profiles_aa_wy_co.pdf. *Meeks, C. (1998). Speeches by Cordell D. Meeks. Kansas City, Kansas: Corcell Publishers, Inc. Found in Spencer Research Library at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, KS. *Meeks, C. Sr. (1986). To Heaven through Hell: An Autobiography of the First Black District Court Judge of Kansas. Kansas City, Kansas: Corcell Publishers, Inc. Found in Spencer Research Library at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, KS. {{DEFAULTSORT:Meeks, Cordell D Kansas lawyers 1914 births 1987 deaths Lawyers from Little Rock, Arkansas People from Kansas City, Kansas University of Kansas alumni 20th-century American lawyers

Biography

Career

See also

References