Ernest Adolphus Finney Jr. (March 23, 1931 – December 3, 2017) was the first

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

Supreme Court Justice appointed to the

South Carolina Supreme Court The Supreme Court of South Carolina is the highest court in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The court is composed of a chief justice and four associate justices.

since the

Reconstruction Era The Reconstruction era was a period in History of the United States, US history that followed the American Civil War (1861-65) and was dominated by the legal, social, and political challenges of the Abolitionism in the United States, abol ...

. He spent the last years of his life in

Sumter, South Carolina Sumter ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Sumter County, South Carolina, United States. The city makes up the Sumter, SC Metropolitan Statistical Area. Sumter County, along with Clarendon and Lee counties, form the core of Sumter–Lee ...

. He was a member of

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 ...

fraternity.

Early life, education

Finney was born in

Smithfield, Virginia Smithfield is a town in Isle of Wight County, in the South Hampton Roads subregion of the Hampton Roads region of Virginia, United States. The population was 8,533 at the 2020 census. The town is most famous for the curing and production of ...

. His mother died when he was ten days old, so he was raised by his father, Dr. Ernest A. Finney Sr. Finney earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from

Claflin College Claflin University is a private historically black university in Orangeburg, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1869 after the American Civil War by northern missionaries for the education of freedmen and their children, it offers bachelor ...

in 1952. He then enrolled in

South Carolina State College South Carolina State University (SCSU or SC State) is a public, historically black, land-grant university in Orangeburg, South Carolina. It is the only public, historically black land-grant research university in South Carolina, is a member o ...

's School of Law, from which he graduated in 1954. In the beginning, he was unable to find work as a lawyer, so he followed in his father's footsteps and worked as a teacher. In 1960, he moved to Sumter and began a full-time law practice.Profile
, scafricanamericanhistory.com; accessed December 11, 2017.

Legal career

In 1961, Finney represented the

Friendship 9 The Friendship Nine, or Rock Hill Nine, was a group of African-American men who went to jail after staging a sit-in at a segregated McCrory's lunch counter in Rock Hill, South Carolina in 1961. The group gained nationwide attention because they fol ...

, a group of black junior college students arrested and charged when trying 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 ...

McCrory's lunch counter in

Rock Hill, South Carolina Rock Hill is the most populous city in York County, South Carolina, United States, and the List of municipalities in South Carolina, 5th-most populous city in the state. It is also the 4th-most populous city of the Charlotte metropolitan area, be ...

. In 1963, he served as chairman of the South Carolina Commission on Civil Rights. Finney was elected to the

South Carolina House of Representatives The South Carolina House of Representatives is the lower house of the South Carolina General Assembly. It consists of 124 representatives elected to two-year terms at the same time as U.S. congressional elections. Unlike many legislatures, seatin ...

in 1972. He was subsequently appointed a member of the House Judiciary Committee, making him the first African-American to serve on that key committee in modern times. Finney was one of the founders of the Legislative Black Caucus and served as charter Chairperson from 1973 to 1975. In May 1994, the state's general assembly elected Ernest Finney to the position of Chief Justice of the State Supreme Court, effective December 1994, making him the first African-American Chief Justice of South Carolina since Reconstruction. In 1976, he won an election to become South Carolina's first black circuit judge. He has been on the state Supreme Court since 1985. Finney retired from the state Supreme Court in 2000 and was named interim president of South Carolina State University in 2002. In 2015, Finney represented the surviving eight members of the

Friendship Nine The Friendship Nine, or Rock Hill Nine, was a group of African-American men who went to jail after staging a sit-in at a segregated McCrory's lunch counter in Rock Hill, South Carolina in 1961. The group gained nationwide attention because they f ...

at the court hearing where their convictions were overturned.

Awards and legacy

Among Finney's other accomplishments are also a position on the National College of State Trial Judges, 1977; Honorary Doctor of Laws Degree,

The Citadel The Citadel Military College of South Carolina (simply known as The Citadel) is a public senior military college in Charleston, South Carolina, United States. Established in 1842, it is the third oldest of the six senior military colleges ...

Johnson C. Smith University Johnson C. Smith University (JCSU) is a private historically black university in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. It is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA) and accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SAC ...

, 1995; Doctor of Humane Letters, SC State University, 1996; Doctor of Laws,

Morris College Morris College (MC) is a private, Baptist historically black college in Sumter, South Carolina. It was founded and is operated by the Baptist Educational and Missionary Convention of South Carolina. History Morris College was founded in 1908 ...

, 1996; Doctorate,

Claflin University Claflin University is a private historically black university in Orangeburg, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1869 after the American Civil War by northern missionaries for the education of freedmen and their children, it offers bachelo ...

; Honoree, S.C. Trial Lawyers Association, 1993; elected and qualified Judge of the Third Judicial Circuit, 1976; and elected and qualified Associate Justice, 1985. A portrait by artist Larry Francis Lebby was unveiled and is on display in Sumter County.

Death

Finney died on December 3, 2017, at the age of 86 in

Columbia, South Carolina Columbia is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is List of municipalities in South Carolina, the second-mo ...

, from complications of

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

. Governor

Henry McMaster Henry Dargan McMaster (born May 27, 1947) is an American politician and attorney serving since 2017 as the 117th governor of South Carolina. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he was the 50th List of Attorneys Ge ...

announced that flags would be lowered in the late Justice's honor. On December 8, 2017, Executive Order 2017-40 was filed for that purpose.

Family

Finney's daughter,

Nikky Finney Nikky Finney (born Lynn Carol Finney on August 26, 1957, in Conway, South Carolina) is an American poet. She was the Guy Davenport Endowed Professor of English at the University of Kentucky for twenty years. In 2013, she accepted a position at ...

, is a poet and professor at the

University of South Carolina The University of South Carolina (USC, SC, or Carolina) is a Public university, public research university in Columbia, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1801 as South Carolina College, It is the flagship of the University of South Car ...

. Finney's son Ernest A. Finney III was the solicitor for the state of South Carolina who argued for the state against exoneration of George Stinney Jr. Finney's son Jerry Finney Sr. owns and operates the Finney Law Firm, Inc., in Columbia. He provides a range of services in a variety of practice areas, including civil litigation, workers' compensation, and probate.

References

4 Michael Scoggins and David Rawlinson, "'Rock Hill, Jail No Bail and the Friendship Nine'" Archived 2011-11-17 at the Wayback Machine, Friendship College; retrieved January 19, 2012

External links

Biography
at the website of the Finney Law Firm, Inc
Court hearing to vacate the convictions of the Friendship Nine
City of Rock Hill, SC, January 30, 2015
Image, Finney at the South Carolina State House, 1985.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Finney, Ernest A. Jr. 1931 births 2017 deaths South Carolina State University alumni Chief justices of the South Carolina Supreme Court People from Smithfield, Virginia Claflin University alumni Justices of the South Carolina Supreme Court People from Sumter, South Carolina 20th-century South Carolina state court judges African-American judges