Jesse James McCrary Jr. (September 16, 1937 – October 29, 2007) was an American lawyer from the U.S. state of

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. A civil rights activist, he entered state politics and served as

Secretary of State of Florida The Secretary of State of Florida is an executive officer of the state government of the U.S. state of Florida, established since the original 1838 state constitution. Like the corresponding officials in other states, the original charge of the ...

for five months from 1978 to 1979, becoming the first

black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

member of the

Florida Cabinet The Florida Cabinet is a body of the government of Florida comprising the attorney general, the commissioner of agriculture, and the chief financial officer that engages in the collective governance of the state. History Created following Recons ...

since the end of

Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology *Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *''Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Union ...

. He was inducted into the

Florida Civil Rights Hall of Fame The Florida Civil Rights Hall of Fame honors people who have worked on behalf of civil rights in Florida. It is located in the Florida State Capitol and is administered by the Florida Department of Management Services. It was created in 2010 by una ...

Early life and education

McCrary was born in 1937 in Blitchton, Florida, the son of a

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...

preacher. He attended

Howard Academy Howard Academy, at 306 NW 7th Avenue in Ocala, Florida, was a school for African-American children opened in 1866 or 1867 by the Freedmen's Bureau. Up until that time there had been no public and almost no private education for African Americans in ...

in Ocala. He was the

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

of the school's championship

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

team. He was a

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

major at

Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU), commonly known as Florida A&M, is a public historically black land-grant university in Tallahassee, Florida. Founded in 1887, It is the third largest historically black university in the Un ...

, where he was a civil rights activist, organizing

sit-in A sit-in or sit-down is a form of direct action that involves one or more people occupying an area for a protest, often to promote political, social, or economic change. The protestors gather conspicuously in a space or building, refusing to mo ...

s in Tallahassee. He was also on the debate team, a member of the drama club and an ROTC cadet. He served in the

Military Intelligence Corps The Military Intelligence Corps is the intelligence branch of the United States Army. The primary mission of military intelligence in the United States Army is to provide timely, relevant, accurate, and synchronized intelligence and electronic ...

before graduating from Florida A&M University College of Law with his

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

in 1965.

Career

In 1967, McCrary became Florida's first assistant

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

. He dealt with criminal appeals and advised the state Racing Commission. Three years later, he became the first black lawyer to argue a case before the

Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

on behalf of a

Southern Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express, M ...

state (the case was ''Williams v. State of Florida''; the court decided in favor of the state, which was seeking to uphold a law allowing six-person

juries A jury is a sworn body of people (jurors) convened to hear evidence and render an impartial verdict (a finding of fact on a question) officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a penalty or judgment. Juries developed in England durin ...

in non-capital criminal cases). In the 1970s, McCrary was a

partner Partner, Partners, The Partner, or, The Partners may refer to: Books * ''The Partner'' (Grisham novel), by John Grisham, 1997 * ''The Partner'' (Jenaro Prieto novel), 1928 * ''The Partners'' (book), a 1983 book by James B. Stewart * ''Partner'' (m ...

in the

law firm A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise clients (individuals or corporations) about their legal rights and responsibilities, and to r ...

McCrary, Ferguson and Leethrough. He issued a report critical of Opa-locka's government and police department, was the Dade County School Board's first black attorney, and was appointed by Governor

Reubin Askew Reubin O'Donovan Askew (September 11, 1928 – March 13, 2014) was an American politician, who served as the 37th governor of Florida from 1971 to 1979. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 7th U.S. Trade representative from 1979 ...

to a Florida Industrial Commission judgeship. At the time, he was Florida's highest-paid black official. After returning to private practice for five years, McCrary was appointed in 1977 to the Florida Constitution Revision Commission by Askew. The following year, Askew appointed him

to finish the unexpired term of Bruce Smathers, who had resigned to run for governor. As Secretary of State, he recommended judicial appointees to the governor. McCrary returned to private practice in 1979 and was active in the community in the 1980s and 1990s. He represented an embattled county commissioner in a public corruption scandal. He was part of the effort to have the board allow

single-member district A single-member district is an electoral district represented by a single officeholder. It contrasts with a multi-member district, which is represented by multiple officeholders. Single-member districts are also sometimes called single-winner vo ...

s. In 1991, he served as the unpaid chair of a local community services organization which he saved form bankruptcy. In 2000, he was appointed to the Board of

Miami Children's Hospital Nicklaus Children's Hospital formerly known as Miami Children's Hospital is a hospital for children in South Florida. The hospital has 289 beds. It is affiliated with the FIU Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine, Nova Southeastern University, and ...

. In 2001, he was named to a commission that made recommendations to Senior Judge Lenore C. Nesbitt in a federal condemnation suit brought by the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...

to acquire land for Everglades National Park. In 2003, the

Florida Legislature The Florida Legislature is the legislature of the U.S. State of Florida. It is organized as a bicameral body composed of an upper chamber, the Senate, and a lower chamber, the House of Representatives. Article III, Section 1 of the Florida Cons ...

passed a resolution recognizing his work on ten landmark Florida Supreme Court cases.

Death

McCrary died in 2007 of

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissue (biology), tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from tran ...

References

;Sources * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:McCrary, Jesse J. Jr. 1937 births 2007 deaths African-American people in Florida politics 20th-century American lawyers American civil rights activists Florida A&M University alumni Secretaries of State of Florida Deaths from lung cancer in Florida 20th-century American politicians 20th-century African-American politicians 20th-century African-American lawyers