Early life and education
J. L. Chestnut Jr., born in Selma, Alabama, was the son of J. L. Chestnut Sr., who owned a grocery store. His mother was an elementary school teacher. His father was forced to shut down his grocery store due to an accumulation of unpaid taxes. When he was young, he had a mentor named John F. Sheilds, who was an elementary school teacher. Shields advised him to "go get a law degree and fight the system." He said this because Chestnut Jr. expressed frustration with outdated textbooks and the differences in different institutions due to segregation and discrimination. In 1953, Chestnut obtained his undergraduate degree at Dillard University in New Orleans. Here he earned a bachelor's degree in Business Administration. Shortly after, he attended law school at Howard University, located in Washington, D.C. His practices were heavily influenced by the work of Thurgood Marshall and other accomplished civil rights leaders.Career
Chestnut was the first African American lawyer in Selma, Alabama. He was well known for being an attorney for Martin Luther King Jr. and other respected civil rights leaders in the 1960s among civil rights protest, speeches, and marches. He was a major contributor that helped lead change for African Americans. He made advancements for African Americans voting rights and integration into law professions. On March 7, 1965, nonviolent activists gathered protesters at Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma to march together to Montgomery. This march was to bring awareness and recognition to the discrimination, segregation and neglection of African American and other minority citizen, exercising their right to vote and be heard. Alabama state troopers attacked these civil-rights protesters, physically beating them, and using tear gas. This day is known as Bloody Sunday and is a major landmark for the civil rights movement. The event was nationally televised and spread awareness around the United States, igniting change. The widespread support from the nation provoked congress to act, and a few months later in August, the 1965 Voting Rights Act was passed. In 1986, Chestnut was one of the founders of the New South Coalition, along with Birmingham, Alabama Mayor Richard Arrington, when the Alabama Democratic Party refused to endorse Jesse Jackson for the Democratic presidential nomination.Reeves, JayPersonal life and death
He was married to Vivian Chestnut of Selma. They were married for 56 years and had six children before Chestnut Jr. died. Chestnut died on September 30, 2008, at St. Vincent's Hospital located inReferences
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chestnut, J. L. 1930 births 2008 deaths American civil rights lawyers Howard University School of Law alumni African-American activists Activists from Selma, Alabama Deaths from kidney failure in the United States Selma to Montgomery marches 21st-century African-American people