Gertrude Elzora Durden Rush (August 5, 1880 – September 5, 1962) was the first African-American female lawyer in

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to th ...

, admitted to the Iowa bar in 1918.J. Clay Smith, Jr., Thurgood Marshall (1999). ''Emancipation: The Making of the Black Lawyer, 1844–1944.'' University of Pennsylvania Press, She helped found the

National Bar Association The National Bar Association (NBA) was founded in 1925 and is the nation's oldest and largest national network of predominantly African-American attorneys and judges. It represents the interests of approximately 65,000 lawyers, judges, law profess ...

in 1925.

Life and career

Gertrude Elzora Durden was born on August 5, 1880 in Navasota, Texas to Sarah E. and Frank Durden. She attended high schools in Parsons, Kansas and Quincy, Illinois. She taught in

Oswego, Kansas Oswego is a city in and the county seat of Labette County, Kansas, United States, and situated along the Neosho River. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 1,668. History Oswego is located on the site of an Osage village calle ...

; the

Indian Territory The Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the United States Government for the relocation of Native Americans who held aboriginal title to their land as a sovereign ...

; and

Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, ...

. She married in 1907 and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from

Des Moines College Des is a masculine given name, mostly a short form (hypocorism) of Desmond. People named Des include: People * Des Buckingham, English football manager * Des Corcoran, (1928–2004), Australian politician * Des Dillon (disambiguation), severa ...

in 1914, then earned a law degree through

distance learning Distance education, also known as distance learning, is the education of students who may not always be physically present at a school, or where the learner and the teacher are separated in both time and distance. Traditionally, this usually in ...

facility

La Salle Extension University La Salle Extension University (LSEUDe Sola, Ralph (1981). ''Abbreviations dictionary.'' Elsevier, ), also styled as LaSalle Extension University,The university styled its name as both "La Salle" and "LaSalle" in print mediahttp://aycu21.webshots.c ...

. She remained the only African American female lawyer in Iowa until 1950. She took over her husband's law practice after his death. In 1921 she was elected president of the Colored Bar Association. In 1925 Rush and four other black lawyers founded the Negro Bar Association after being denied admission to the

American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. Founded in 1878, the ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of aca ...

. Rush was also an activist in the

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life o ...

and suffrage movements, as well as an author and playwright.

Tributes

* The Gertrude E. Rush Distinguished Service Award is given by the

. * As of 2017, the Iowa National Bar Association is erecting a public art project, A Monumental Journey, in honor of Rush and the others who opened the profession of law to African Americans.

References

External links

Gertrude Elzora Durden Rush biography
via University of Iowa 1880 births 1962 deaths 20th-century American women lawyers People from Oswego, Kansas Iowa lawyers La Salle Extension University alumni People from Navasota, Texas National Bar Association 20th-century American lawyers {{US-law-bio-stub

Life and career

Tributes

See also

References

External links