George William Crockett Jr. (August 10, 1909 – September 7, 1997) was an

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. ...

attorney, jurist, and congressman from the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

. He also served as a national vice-president of the

National Lawyers Guild The National Lawyers Guild (NLG) is a progressive public interest association of lawyers, law students, paralegals, jailhouse lawyers, law collective members, and other activist legal workers, in the United States. The group was founded in 193 ...

and co-founded what is believed to be the first racially integrated law firm in the United States.

Early life

George Crockett was born in

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

, to George William Crockett and Minnie Amelia Jenkins, who had two other children: Alzeda Crockett and John Frazier Crockett. George Sr. pastored the Harmony Baptist Church in Jacksonville for more than 30 years and mastered the carpentry trade. George Sr. became a railroad carpenter for the

Atlantic Coast Line Railroad The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad was a United States Class I railroad formed in 1900, though predecessor railroads had used the ACL brand since 1871. In 1967, it merged with long-time rival Seaboard Air Line Railroad to form the Seaboard Coast ...

. His son, George Jr., would later build room additions and continue practicing carpentry for pleasure in adulthood. Minnie, a gentle woman, Sunday School teacher and poet, said in a November 23, 1969, Times-Union Journal (Jacksonville) article, "My philosophy is that children should be ahead of their parents, should climb a step higher and make a contribution to the family and to society." George Jr. took his mother's philosophy to heart.

Education

Crockett graduated from Stanton High School in Jacksonville. In 1931, he received a

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

Morehouse College Morehouse College is a Private college, private, Historically black colleges and universities, historically black, Men's colleges in the United States, men's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Atlanta, Georgia, ...

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, a prestigious, historically black college that awarded its first degrees in 1897. He was later given an Honorary LL.D. from Morehouse in 1972, was inducted into

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States. It was founded in 1776 at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, ...

, and served as a Trustee of the College for many years. During his Morehouse tenure, Crockett pledged

Kappa Alpha Psi Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. () is a List of African-American fraternities, historically African American Fraternities and sororities, fraternity. Since the fraternity's founding on January 5, 1911, at Indiana University Bloomington, it has n ...

. Crockett received a Bachelor of Laws degree from the

University of Michigan Law School The University of Michigan Law School (branded as Michigan Law) is the law school of the University of Michigan, a public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Founded in 1859, the school offers Master of Laws (LLM), Master of Comparati ...

in 1934 and returned to Jacksonville to practice law that year as one of very few African American attorneys in the state of Florida.

As a lawyer

Crockett participated in the founding convention of the nation's first racially integrated bar association, the

, in 1937 and later served that organization as its national vice-president. As the first African-American lawyer in the

U.S. Department of Labor The United States Department of Labor (DOL) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It is responsible for the administration of federal laws governing occupational safety and health, wage and hour standards, unem ...

, 1939–43, Crockett worked as a senior attorney on employment cases brought under the

National Labor Relations Act The National Labor Relations Act of 1935, also known as the Wagner Act, is a foundational statute of United States labor law that guarantees the right of private sector employees to organize into trade unions, engage in collective bargaining, an ...

, a legislative program of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's

New Deal The New Deal was a series of wide-reaching economic, social, and political reforms enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1938, in response to the Great Depression in the United States, Great Depressi ...

. Crockett also worked as a hearing officer in the Federal Fair Employment Practices Commission during 1943. That same year the

United Auto Workers The United Auto Workers (UAW), fully named International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, is an American labor union that represents workers in the United States (including Puerto Rico) and sou ...

retained Crockett to run the union's Fair Practices Committee, which tried to oppose so-called "hate strikes" by white workers, who protested the migration North by Black workers. In 1946, Crockett along with partners Ernest Goodman, Morton Eden, and Dean A. Robb, co-founded the corporation believed to be the first racially integrated law firm in the U.S., Goodman, Crockett, Eden, and Robb, in Detroit, Michigan. The firm, eventually called Goodman, Eden, Millender and Bedrosian, closed in 1998. In 1948, Crockett became a member of the legal team that went to New York for the

Foley Square trial The Smith Act trials of Communist Party leaders in New York City from 1949 to 1958 were the result of US federal government prosecutions in the postwar period and during the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States. Leaders of the ...

to defend 11 Communist Party leaders accused of teaching the overthrow of the Federal government, a violation of the

Smith Act The Alien Registration Act, popularly known as the Smith Act, 76th United States Congress, 3rd session, ch. 439, , is a United States federal statute that was enacted on June 28, 1940. It set criminal penalties for advocating the overthrow of ...

. Among the 11 were Communist Party leaders: Gil Green,

Eugene Dennis Francis Xavier Waldron (August 10, 1905 – January 31, 1961), best known by the pseudonym Eugene Dennis and Tim Ryan, was an American communist politician and union organizer, best remembered as the long-time leader of the Communist Party USA ...

Henry Winston Henry M. Winston (April 2, 1911December 13, 1986) was an African-American political leader and Marxist civil rights activist. Winston, committed to equal rights and communism, was an advocate of civil rights for African Americans decades before ...

John Gates John "Johnny" Gates, born Solomon Regenstreif (28 September 1913 – 23 May 1992) was an American communist businessman, best remembered as one of the individuals spearheading a failed attempt at liberalization of the Communist Party USA in 19 ...

Gus Hall Gus Hall (born Arvo Kustaa Halberg; October 8, 1910 – October 13, 2000) was an American activist who served as the General Secretary of the Communist Party USA (CPUSA) from 1959 to 2000. As a labor leader, Hall was closely associated wi ...

, Robert G. Thompson and fellow Morehouse alumnus and first black New York City Councilman Benjamin J. Davis. In 1949, while defending the Smith Act prosecution, Crockett and four other defense attorneys were sentenced by Judge

Harold Medina Harold Raymond Medina (February 16, 1888 – March 14, 1990) was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and previously was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for ...

to Federal prison for

contempt of court Contempt of court, often referred to simply as "contempt", is the crime of being disobedient to or disrespectful toward a court of law and its officers in the form of behavior that opposes or defies the authority, justice, and dignity of the co ...

. Crockett served four months in an Ashland, Kentucky Federal prison in 1952. A portion of Crockett's jury summation at the trial was published in ''Freedom is Everybody's Job! The Crime of the Government Against the Negro People''. Crockett's criticism of

McCarthyism McCarthyism is a political practice defined by the political repression and persecution of left-wing individuals and a Fear mongering, campaign spreading fear of communist and Soviet influence on American institutions and of Soviet espionage i ...

and the

House Un-American Activities Committee The House Committee on Un-American Activities (HCUA), popularly the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), was an investigative United States Congressional committee, committee of the United States House of Representatives, created in 19 ...

grew after that case, and in 1952 he represented future Detroit mayor

Coleman Young Coleman Alexander Young (May 24, 1918 – November 29, 1997) was an American politician who served as mayor of Detroit, Michigan from 1974 to 1994. Young was the first African-American mayor of Detroit and has been described as the "single mo ...

and the Rev
Charles A. Hill
before the Committee. As large numbers of young civil rights volunteers traveled to the U.S. South in the spring of 1964, Crockett recruited lawyers from the

(NLG) to follow them. He founded the National Lawyers Guild's office in

Jackson, Mississippi Jackson is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Mississippi, most populous city of the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city sits on the Pearl River (Mississippi–Louisiana), Pearl River and is locate ...

, and managed the Mississippi Project, a coalition of the NLG and other leading civil rights legal organizations, during the 1964

Freedom Summer Freedom Summer, also known as Mississippi Freedom Summer (sometimes referred to as the Freedom Summer Project or the Mississippi Summer Project), was a campaign launched by civil rights movement, American civil rights activists in June 1964 to r ...

. The infamous murders of the civil rights workers

James Chaney James Earl Chaney (May 30, 1943 – June 21, 1964) was an American civil rights activist. He was one of three Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) civil rights workers murdered in Philadelphia, Mississippi, by members of the Ku Klux Klan on June 2 ...

, Andrew Goodman, and

Michael Schwerner Michael Henry Schwerner (November 6, 1939 – June 21, 1964) was an American civil rights activist. He was one of three Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) field workers murdered in rural Neshoba County, Mississippi, by members of the Ku Klux K ...

occurred in June of that year. The three had been arrested by local police while investigating the arson of a Black church near

Philadelphia, Mississippi Philadelphia is a city in and the county seat of Neshoba County, Mississippi, Neshoba County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 7,118 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. History Philadelphia is municipal corporation, i ...

. Collaborating with local white supremacist vigilantes, the

Neshoba County Neshoba County is a county located in the central part of the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2020 census, the population was 29,087. Its county seat is Philadelphia. The county is known for the Neshoba County Fair and harness horse r ...

sheriff released the three men from jail late at night, and other civil rights workers reported their disappearance. From the NLG office in Jackson, Crockett dispatched Guild lawyers to search for the missing men. The effort was in vain, and, years later, Crockett described his growing despair in the 1995 PBS documentary ''Mississippi America'', narrated by

Ossie Davis Ossie Davis (born Raiford Chatman Davis; December 18, 1917 – February 4, 2005) was an American actor, Film director, director, writer, and activist. He was married to Ruby Dee, with whom he frequently performed, until his death. He received num ...

and

Ruby Dee Ruby Dee (born Ruby Ann Wallace; October 27, 1922 – June 11, 2014) was an American actress. She was married to Ossie Davis, with whom she frequently performed until his death in 2005. She received numerous accolades, including an Emmy Award, ...

. In the film, Crockett recounts his drive from

Jackson Jackson may refer to: Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region * Jackson South, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region * Jackson oil field in Durham, ...

Meridian Meridian or a meridian line (from Latin ''meridies'' via Old French ''meridiane'', meaning “midday”) may refer to Science * Meridian (astronomy), imaginary circle in a plane perpendicular to the planes of the celestial equator and horizon * ...

in a personal search for the missing men. He survived an effort of the sheriff to arrange his ambush by loudly offering driving directions, while white supremacists loitered nearby. Crockett returned safely to Jackson. He offered a full report to the Justice Department and the FBI, who refused to take the information. The murdered bodies of the three young men, one black, two white, were found days later.

As a judge

In 1965, Crockett became a candidate for the Detroit Common Council. Bob Millender guided his campaign. Crockett lost by a small margin "after he had been severely red-baited in the election," according to his former law partner Ernie Goodman (A Tribute to George W. Crockett Jr, privately published, 1997.) In 1966, Crockett was elected Judge of

Recorder's Court A recorder is a judicial officer in England and Wales and some other common law jurisdictions. England and Wales In the courts of England and Wales, the term ''recorder'' currently has two distinct meanings. The senior circuit judge of a borough ...

Wayne County, Michigan Wayne County is the most populous County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of 2020, the United States census placed its population at 1,793,561, making it the List of the most populous counties in the United States, 19th ...

. The court handled criminal cases. From that bench, Judge Crockett incurred the wrath of the white corporate media and endured death threats for his role in a highly publicized police shooting, raid, and mass arrest. On March 29, 1969, following an officer-involved shooting outside New Bethel Baptist Church in which a Detroit police officer died, police officers fired into and stormed the church. A secessionist organization, the

Republic of New Afrika The Republic of New Afrika (RNA), founded in 1968 as the Republic of New Africa, is a black nationalist organization and black separatist movement in the United States popularized by black militant groups. The larger New Afrika movement in pa ...

, had rented the church for a meeting. Witnesses in the majority

African-American neighborhood African-American neighborhoods or black neighborhoods are types of ethnic enclaves found in many cities in the United States. Generally, an African American neighborhood is one where the majority of the people who live there are African American ...

later stated that the responding officers had all been white. More than one-hundred fifty persons, including juveniles, were arrested inside the church and taken to police headquarters. The church pastor called Judge Crockett before dawn. Crockett opened temporary court at police headquarters. In refusing to find probable cause to hold the people from what he termed a "collective punishment"

mass arrest A mass arrest occurs when police apprehend large numbers of suspects at once. This sometimes occurs at protests. Some mass arrests are also used in an effort to combat gang activity. This is sometimes controversial, and lawsuits sometimes result. ...

, Judge Crockett released 130 of the arrested persons. In the controversy that followed, Detroit saw the appearance of bumper stickers that read, "Sock It to Crockett" and "Impeach Judge Crockett." The police association organized a picket line at the courthouse. The black community and interracial civic organizations supported Crockett. In 1974, Crockett was elected Chief Judge of the Detroit's

. He served there until retiring in 1978.

Congressman

In November 1980, as the candidate of the Democratic Party from

Michigan's 13th congressional district Michigan's 13th congressional district is a United States List of United States congressional districts, congressional district in Wayne County, Michigan. It is currently represented by Democratic Party (United States), Democrat Shri Thanedar. ...

, Crockett was elected in a special election to the

96th Congress The 96th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from January 3, 1979 ...

to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Charles C. Diggs Jr. from the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

Dennis W. Archer Dennis Wayne Archer (born January 1, 1942) is an American Law of the United States, lawyer, jurist and former Politics of the United States, politician from Michigan. A Democratic Party (United States), Democrat, Archer served as Justice on the ...

ran Crockett's successful election campaign. Crockett was simultaneously elected to a full term in the

97th Congress The 97th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C., from January 3, 198 ...

and was subsequently re-elected to the next four Congresses, serving from November 4, 1980, to January 3, 1991. The 71-year-old Crockett was sworn in in the presence of Crockett's wife, son, and 96-year-old mother. During his tenure, Crockett was a member of the

Congressional Black Caucus The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) is made up of Black members of the United States Congress. Representative Yvette Clarke from New York, the current chairperson, succeeded Steven Horsford from Nevada in 2025. Although most members belong ...

, the Democratic Study Group, the Congressional Caucus on Women's Issues, and the Congressional Arts Caucus. He also served on the

House Judiciary Committee The U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary, also called the House Judiciary Committee, is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. It is charged with overseeing the administration of justice within the federal courts, f ...

, the Select Committee on Aging, and the

House Foreign Affairs Committee The United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs, also known as the House Foreign Affairs Committee, is a standing committee of the U.S. House of Representatives with jurisdiction over bills and investigations concerning the foreign affairs ...

. As a member of the Africa Subcommittee, Crocket authored the Mandela Freedom Resolution, HB.430, which called upon the South Africa government to release

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela ( , ; born Rolihlahla Mandela; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist and politician who served as the first president of South Africa f ...

and his wife

Winnie Mandela Winnie Nomzamo Madikizela-Mandela (born Nomzamo Winifred Zanyiwe Madikizela; 26 September 1936 – 2 April 2018), also known as Winnie Mandela, was a South African politician and anti-apartheid activist, second wife of Nelson Mandela. During ...

from imprisonment and banning. The resolution was passed by both houses of Congress in 1984. Later, Crockett continued to denounce

apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

and was jailed with Detroit Mayor Coleman A. Young and others for demonstrating in Washington, D.C., against apartheid. Crockett filed suit against the Reagan administration claiming violation of the War Powers Act in providing El Salvador with military aid (''Crockett v. Reagan'', 720 F.2d 1355 (C.A.D.C., 1983)). Crockett chaired the Foreign Affairs' Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere Affairs from 1987 until his retirement. On Wednesday, March 28, 1990, Crockett, who was affectionately called "Judge" by his House colleagues, announced on the House Floor: "Mr. Speaker, a few days ago the press carried the story on the death of the Honorable Harold Medina, who was the judge who presided over the famous communist trials in New York back in 1949 and 1950. In the course of that trial, Judge Medina sentenced the five defense lawyers to prison. I'm the only living survivor of those five defense lawyers. "During the four months that I served in a federal prison, it never occurred to me that one day I would also serve in the United States Congress and be a member of the committee having oversight jurisdiction over all federal judges and all federal prisons. "Today, Mr. Speaker, I rise to inform my colleagues that I have decided to retire from the House at the conclusion of the 101st Congress. After 68 years of working, championing unpopular causes, I'm hoping to enjoy a little time off.... I've been privileged to serve the people of Michigan's 13th District in this body, and it has been a challenge and an honor I will always cherish." Representative

John Conyers John James Conyers Jr. (May 16, 1929October 27, 2019) was an American politician of the Democratic Party who served as a U.S. representative from Michigan from 1965 to 2017. Conyers was the sixth-longest serving member of Congress and the lo ...

, also from Detroit, described Crockett's announcement by saying "When he finished, all the members stood and clapped".''Detroit Free Press'' (March 29, 1990), p. 15A.

Family

George and Ethelene Crockett had three children: Elizabeth Crockett Hicks, George W. Crockett III, and Dr. Ethelene Crockett Jones. George III also served on the Recorders Court. George Jr. had nine grandchildren: Wayne, Charles, Kyra, Iyisa, Kimberly, Kelly, LeBeau and Enrique, and eight great-grandchildren. One nephew, Rear Admiral

Benjamin Thurman Hacker Rear Admiral Benjamin Thurman Hacker (1935–2003) was a U.S. Naval officer, who became the first Naval Flight Officer, Naval Flight Officer (NFO) to achieve Flag Officer, Flag rank. Early life Hacker was born September 19, 1935, in Washington, D ...

(1935–2003) was a U.S. Navy officer, who became the first Naval Flight Officer to achieve Flag rank. Following the death of Dr. Ethelene Crockett, George Crockett Jr. married Dr. Harriette Clark Chambliss, a pediatrician in Washington, D.C. Crockett is buried in Laurel, Delaware, in the New Zion United Methodist Church cemetery, with his parents and other generations of Crocketts and within walking distance from Crockett Street, named in honor of the Crockett family.

Honors

Crockett received an Honorary L.L.D. from

in 1972. In 1972, the Cotillion Club of Detroit, co-founded in 1949 by Dr. William Emmett Lawson, presented an award to Crockett, attorney Kenneth Cockrel, and Judge Damon Keith. In 1986, awarded annual the

Laural Wreath Commission for extra meritorious achievement. In 1998, th
George Crockett Academy
opened in Detroit. Nearly 400 students attend the K-8 charter school. Th
George Crockett Consortium High School
also in Detroit, is open to grades 9–12. Th
George W. Crockett Jr. Community Law School
is a public education program sponsored by the NAACP Detroit Branch. George's wife of 45 years, Ethelene, was also celebrated with a Detroit school in her honor, th
Ethelene Jones Crockett Technical High School

Works

Writings

* ''A Black Judge Speaks''. Judicature, 1970, vol 53 (9), pp. 360–365. . Discusses discrimination and racism in the courts. * ''Freedom is Everybody's Job!''. National Non-Partisan Committee. New York, no date (approx 1949 or 1950), 16 pages. * ''Michigan Blitzed: A Reagan Budget Case Study''. Freedomways, 1981, vol 21 (2), pp 87–92. . * ''Racism in the Law''. Science & Society. 1969, vol. 33 (2), pp. 223–230. . Three positive developments hint at the end to racism in the law: 1. black self-awareness, 2. identification of blacks and poor whites as a single class — the poor, and 3. an establishment frightened enough to want reform. * ''Reflections of a Jurist on Civil Disobedience''. American Scholar, 1971, vol 40 (4), pp 584–591. .

Important legal cases

* United States. District Court. New York (Southern District). The case of United States of America v. William Z. Foster, Eugene Dennis John B. Williamson, Jacob Stachel, Robert G. Thompson, Benjamin J. Davis Jr., Henry Winston, John Gates, Irving Potash, Gilbert Green, Carl Winter, Gus Hall. National Civil Rights Congress, New York. 1948, 56p

References

External links

George Crockett page: Chicago Chapter, National Lawyers Guild

from the Detroit African American History Project
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Crockett, George W. Jr. 1909 births 1997 deaths African-American judges African-American people in Michigan politics African-American members of the United States House of Representatives Morehouse College alumni University of Michigan Law School alumni Baptists from Florida American civil rights lawyers Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Michigan Politicians from Detroit Politicians from Jacksonville, Florida 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century Michigan state court judges Florida lawyers Michigan state court judges Baptists from Michigan 20th-century Baptists 20th-century African-American politicians 20th-century African-American lawyers 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives