Judson Douglas Wetmore (died 1930) was a lawyer 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 and Isaac Lawrence Purcell challenged state law requiring segregated streetcars (

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 ...

). A nasty comic of him relating to a city council election was published. He corresponded with

W. E. B. Du Bois William Edward Burghardt Du Bois ( ; February 23, 1868 – August 27, 1963) was an American sociologist, socialist, historian, and Pan-Africanist civil rights activist. Born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, Du Bois grew up in a relativel ...

. He was a childhood friend and business partner of

James Weldon Johnson James Weldon Johnson (June 17, 1871June 26, 1938) was an American writer and civil rights activist. He was married to civil rights activist Grace Nail Johnson. Johnson was a leader of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People ...

. He wrote to

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 ...

. Wetmore moved to New York City with his family. He criticized discrimination at the federal level.

was critical of him. James Weldon Johnson fictionalized an African American passing as white in his book, ''An Ex-Colored Man''. He advertised his office at 5 Beekman Street in New York City. He had two brothers. In 1930 his health was failing and he committed suicide by shooting himself at his summer home in

Greenwich, Connecticut Greenwich ( ) is a New England town, town in southwestern Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it had a population of 63,518. It is the largest town on Gold Coast (Connecticut), Connectic ...

. He married twice and had three children.

References

20th-century American lawyers Florida lawyers 1930 deaths Suicides by firearm in Connecticut 1870 births {{US-law-bio-stub