Demetrius Caiphus Newton (March 15, 1928 – September 11, 2013) was an American

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

attorney and politician. He filed lawsuits to end

segregation Segregation may refer to: Separation of people * Geographical segregation, rates of two or more populations which are not homogenous throughout a defined space * School segregation * Housing segregation * Racial segregation, separation of human ...

, and represented

Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister, civil and political rights, civil rights activist and political philosopher who was a leader of the civil rights move ...

Rosa Parks Rosa Louise McCauley Parks (February 4, 1913 – October 24, 2005) was an American civil rights activist. She is best known for her refusal to move from her seat on a Montgomery, Alabama, bus, in defiance of Jim Crow laws, which sparke ...

, and others in cases related to civil rights. He then served in the

Alabama House of Representatives The Alabama House of Representatives is the lower house of the Alabama Legislature, the state legislature (United States), state legislature of state of Alabama. The House is composed of 105 members representing an equal number of districts, with ...

, representing the 53rd district, from 1986 to his death in 2013. He became the first Black

speaker Speaker most commonly refers to: * Speaker, a person who produces speech * Loudspeaker, a device that produces sound ** Computer speakers Speaker, Speakers, or The Speaker may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * "Speaker" (song), by David ...

pro tempore ''Pro tempore'' (), abbreviated ''pro tem'' or ''p.t.'', is a Latin phrase which best translates to 'for the time being' in English. This phrase is often used to describe a person who acts as a '' locum tenens'' ('placeholder'). The phrase is ...

in the history of the Alabama House, serving in the role from 1998 through 2010.

Early life

Newton was born in

Fairfield, Alabama Fairfield is a city in western Jefferson County, Alabama, United States. It is part of the Birmingham metropolitan area and is located southeast of Pleasant Grove. The population was 10,000 at the 2020 census. Fairfield is home to Miles C ...

. He graduated from Fairfield Industrial High School. He received his

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree from

Wilberforce University Wilberforce University (WU) is a private university in Wilberforce, Ohio. It is one of three historically black universities established before the American Civil War. Founded in 1856 by the Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC), it is named after ...

and his

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from the

Boston University School of Law The Boston University School of Law (BU Law) is the law school of Boston University, a private research university in Boston. Established in 1872, it is the third-oldest law school in New England, after Harvard Law School and Yale Law School. Ap ...

in 1952. The state of Alabama paid Newton to attend a law school outside of the state, in order to prevent having to

desegregate Racial integration, or simply integration, includes desegregation (the process of ending systematic racial segregation), leveling barriers to association, creating equal opportunity regardless of race, and the development of a culture that draws ...

the

University of Alabama School of Law The University of Alabama School of Law, (formerly known as the Hugh F. Culverhouse Jr. School of Law at The University of Alabama) located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama is the only public law school in the state. It is one of five law schools in the ...

or create a law school for Blacks. At Boston University, Newton met

, who was enrolled as a seminary student at the time. After he graduated from law school, Newton served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

325th Infantry Regiment The 325th Infantry Regiment is an infantry regiment of the 82nd Airborne Division. The regiment serves as the 82nd Airborne's light infantry parachute insertion fighting force of the United States Army, with a long and distinguished history, ha ...

of the

82nd Airborne Division The 82nd Airborne Division is an Airborne forces, airborne infantry division (military), division of the United States Army specializing in Paratrooper, parachute assault operations into hostile areasSof, Eric"82nd Airborne Division" ''Spec Ops ...

from 1952 to September 1954 during the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

era. He was a private first class and worked as a defense councilor in the judge advocate section."PFC Demetrius C. Newton To End Army Tour Of Duty"
''Alabama Tribune'', Montgomery, Alabama, volume 14, number 19, page 1.

Career

Upon completion of his tour in the army, he moved to Birmingham, Alabama. He set up a general practice law office where he worked as a

attorney. He became a member of the

Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights The Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights (ACMHR) was an American civil rights organization in Birmingham, Alabama, which coordinated boycotts and sponsored federal lawsuits aimed at dismantling segregation in Birmingham and Alabama during th ...

and filed numerous lawsuits that were aimed at defeating

segregationist Racial segregation is the separation of people into racial or other ethnic groups in daily life. Segregation can involve the spatial separation of the races, and mandatory use of different institutions, such as schools and hospitals by peopl ...

laws. He represented King during the

Selma to Montgomery marches The Selma to Montgomery marches were three Demonstration (protest), protest marches, held in 1965, along the highway from Selma, Alabama, to the state capital of Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery. The marches were organized by Nonviolence, nonvi ...

. Newton also filed the first lawsuit under Title VII of the

Civil Rights Act of 1964 The Civil Rights Act of 1964 () is a landmark civil rights and United States labor law, labor law in the United States that outlaws discrimination based on Race (human categorization), race, Person of color, color, religion, sex, and nationa ...

. He also worked on

' defense following her arrest for refusing to move from the "Whites Only" section of a bus. Newtown ran for Fairfield

City Council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough counc ...

in 1956.

Richard Arrington Jr. Richard Arrington Jr. (born October 19, 1934 in Livingston, Alabama) was the first African American mayor of the city of Birmingham, Alabama (U.S.) and the second African American on the City Council. He served on the council for two terms fro ...

, a childhood friend and the mayor of Birmingham, appointed Newton as the city attorney of Birmingham. He represented Blacks who were arrested during the

Birmingham riot of 1963 The Birmingham riot of 1963 was a civil disorder and riot in Birmingham, Alabama, that was provoked by bombings on the night of May 11, 1963. The bombings targeted African-American leaders of the Birmingham campaign. In response, local Africa ...

. From 1972 to 1978, he served as a judge in Brownville, Alabama. He was elected to the

in 1986, and was elected as the

in 1998, becoming the first Black speaker pro tempore in Alabama's history. He served in the role until 2010, when Republicans became the majority party. While a member of the Alabama House, Newton campaigned for a constitutional convention to replace the

Constitution of Alabama The Constitution of the State of Alabama is the State constitution (United States), state constitution of the U.S. state of Alabama. It was adopted on November 28, 2022, as a recodification of the Alabama Constitution of 1901 which had been in ef ...

, written in 1901, which he contended contains language that disenfranchises blacks and the poor. Newton died following a long illness on September 11, 2013. After his death,

Seth Hammett Seth Merrill Hammett (born June 24, 1946) is an American educator, politician, and economic development professional who was a member of the Alabama House of Representatives from 1979 to 2011. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), D ...

described Newton as "a gentleman and a scholar" while

Robert J. Bentley Robert Julian Bentley (born February 3, 1943) is an American former politician and physician who served as the 53rd governor of Alabama from 2011 until 2017 upon his resignation following his arrest after a sex scandal involving a political aide ...

called Newton a "fine gentleman", saying they "had a strong mutual respect for each other".

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Newton, Demetrius 1928 births 2013 deaths 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century African-American politicians People from Fairfield, Alabama Democratic Party members of the Alabama House of Representatives American civil rights lawyers Wilberforce University alumni Boston University School of Law alumni African-American state legislators in Alabama Politicians from Birmingham, Alabama United States Army soldiers Activists from Birmingham, Alabama Lawyers from Birmingham, Alabama United States Army Judge Advocate General's Corps Military personnel from Alabama 20th-century African-American lawyers 20th-century members of the Alabama Legislature 21st-century members of the Alabama Legislature