Isaac Lawrence Purcell (born July 17, 1857) was an African-American lawyer.

Booker T. Washington Booker Taliaferro Washington (April 5, 1856November 14, 1915) was an American educator, author, and orator. Between 1890 and 1915, Washington was the primary leader in the African-American community and of the contemporary Black elite#United S ...

noted he was admitted to the bar of the United States Supreme Court and had cases before it. He worked 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 ...

. He was born in

Winnsboro, South Carolina Winnsboro is a town in Fairfield County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 3,550 at the 2010 census. The population was 3,215 at the 2020 census, a population decrease of approximately 9.5% for the same 10 year period. It is the ...

. His father John W. Purcell was a carpenter. He studied 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 ...

after it was desegregated but was excluded after segregation was restored and studied the law privately in

Palatka, Florida Palatka () is a city in and the county seat of Putnam County, Florida, Putnam County, Florida, United States. Palatka is the principal city of the Palatka Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is home to 72,893 residents. The Palatka micropolitan ...

. He was an active Republican and attended party conventions. He and attorney J. Douglas Wetmore challenged the law segregating streetcars in Florida as unconstitutional. The

Avery Law Avery may refer to: Business * Avery Company, a former tractor manufacturer and later produced trucks and automobiles * Avery Weigh-Tronix, a British manufacturer of industrial weighing systems * Avery Berkel, a British manufacturer of retail ...

was invalidated. It was one of the only wins against segregation laws during the

Jim Crow era The Jim Crow laws were U.S. state, state and local laws introduced in the Southern United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries that enforced Racial segregation in the United States, racial segregation, "Jim Crow (character), Ji ...

and attempts to expand its reach were not successful as the same court ruled that there was equality in other instances of segregation where blacks served blacks and white served whites. He represented the Union Aid Association of America.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Purcell, Isaac Lawrence People from Winnsboro, South Carolina 1857 births Year of death missing University of South Carolina alumni Lawyers from Jacksonville, Florida Florida Republicans 19th-century American lawyers American civil rights lawyers Suicides in New York City Lawyers from New York City 19th-century African-American lawyers