Jewel Stradford Lafontant-Mankarious (April 28, 1922 – May 31, 1997) was the first female (and African American female) deputy solicitor general of the United States, an official in the administration of President

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...

, and an attorney in Chicago. She also was considered by President

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

as a

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

nominee.

Early life and education

Born in Chicago as Jewel Carter Stradford, she was the daughter of noted attorney and co-founder of the

National Bar Association The National Bar Association (NBA) was founded in 1925 and is the nation's oldest and largest national network of predominantly African Americans, African-American attorneys and judges. It represents the interests of approximately 67,000 lawyers, ...

, C. Francis Stradford, and Aida Arabella Stradford. She was a descendant of the 19th century American artisan, Scipio Vaughan, and his wife, Maria Conway, from whom she acquired Yoruba

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was derived from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jo ...

Native American Native Americans or Native American usually refers to Native Americans in the United States. Related terms and peoples include: Ethnic groups * Indigenous peoples of the Americas, the pre-Columbian peoples of North, South, and Central America ...

and

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

ancestries. Jewel earned a bachelor's degree in political science from

Oberlin College Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1833, it is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational lib ...

in 1943. While at Oberlin College, Jewel was captain of the volleyball team and a member of the Musical Union, Forensic Union, Cosmopolitan Club, and many other activities. Jewel began law school in 1943 and was the only African-American woman in her class. In 1946, she was the first African American woman to graduate from the

University of Chicago Law School The University of Chicago Law School is the Law school in the United States, law school of the University of Chicago, a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. It employs more than 180 full-time and part-time facul ...

Professional career

In 1947, she was admitted to the Illinois State Bar. The same year, Jewel became a trial lawyer for the Legal Aid Bureau of Chicago, now Legal Aid Society of Metropolitan Family Services. She formed a law firm in Chicago in 1949 with her first husband, John W. Rogers Sr. In 1955, President

Dwight Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...

appointed Jewel as an assistant U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Illinois. She served in that role until 1958. In July 1960, she was a delegate to the

Republican National Convention The Republican National Convention (RNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1856 by the Republican Party in the United States. They are administered by the Republican National Committee. The goal o ...

. She gave the seconding speech for Nixon's nomination to be the Republican candidate for President during the 1960 Presidential election. In 1961, she started a new law firm in Chicago with her father and second husband called Stradford, Lafontant and Lafontant. In 1963, she argued 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 Federal tribunals in the United States, U.S. federal court cases, and over Stat ...

. Her case, ''Beatrice Lynumn v. The State of Illinois'' set the precedent for the landmark

Miranda v. Arizona ''Miranda v. Arizona'', 384 U.S. 436 (1966), was a landmark decision of the Supreme Court of the United States, U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that law enforcement in the United States must warn a person of their constitutional righ ...

case in 1966. She ran unsuccessfully for Illinois judicial elections in 1962 and 1970. In 1972, she was a delegate-at-large to the Republican National Convention. She sat on many corporate and non-profits boards, including the boards of

Jewel Companies Jewel-Osco is a regional supermarket chain in the Chicago metropolitan area, headquartered in Itasca, a western suburb. In 2025, the company had 189 stores across northern, central, and western Illinois; eastern Iowa; and portions of northwest ...

Trans World Airlines Trans World Airlines (TWA) was a major airline in the United States that operated from 1930 until it was acquired by American Airlines in 2001. It was formed as Transcontinental & Western Air to operate a route from New York City to Los Angeles ...

Mobil Corporation Exxon Mobil Corporation ( ) is an American multinational oil and gas corporation headquartered in Spring, Texas, a suburb of Houston. Founded as the largest direct successor of John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil, the modern company was formed ...

Revlon Revlon, Inc. is an American multinational company dealing in cosmetics, skin care, perfume, and personal care. The headquarters of Revlon was established in New York City on March 1, 1932, where it remains. Revlon was founded by brothers Charle ...

, the Illinois Humane Society,

Howard University Howard University is a private, historically black, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" and accredited by the Mid ...

, and Oberlin College.

Work in the Nixon administration

In 1969, Nixon tapped her to serve as vice chairman of the U.S. Advisory Commission on International, Educational and Cultural Affairs. In 1972, Nixon appointed Jewel to serve as a representative to the

General Assembly of the United Nations The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; , AGNU or AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as its main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ. Currently in its 79th session, its powers, ...

. In 1973, Nixon appointed Jewel to be the first-ever female Deputy Solicitor General. She left the administration in 1975 to return to practicing law in Chicago, which she continued to do until 1989.

Work in the George H. W. Bush administration

She was admitted to the D.C. Court of Appeals in 1985. From 1989 until 1993, Jewel held the title of Ambassador-at-Large and was the U.S. Coordinator for Refugee Affairs while in the administration of President

. Jewel traveled extensively during this time all over the world. She made a yearly recommendation to President Bush about the number of refugees that should be admitted to the United States. She succeeded Jonathan Moore in this position. After Bush lost his reelection campaign, Jewel returned to Chicago to continue practicing law until her death in 1997.

Consideration for nomination to the Supreme Court and to an appeals court

In his book ''Witness to Power'',

John Ehrlichman John Daniel Ehrlichman (; March 20, 1925 – February 14, 1999) was an American political aide who served as White House Counsel and Assistant to the President for Domestic Affairs under President Richard Nixon. Ehrlichman was an important infl ...

wrote that Nixon was "intrigued" with the idea of nominating Lafontant to the Supreme Court. Nixon also considered nominating Lafontant to an appeals-court post, but the

American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary association, voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students in the United States; national in scope, it is not specific to any single jurisdiction. Founded in 1878, the ABA's stated acti ...

found her to be unqualified, according to Sheldon Goodman's book ''Picking Federal Judges'', and Nixon dropped the idea.

Personal life

Jewel Stradford married

John W. Rogers Sr. John W. Rogers Sr. (September 3, 1918 January 21, 2014) was an American attorney and military aviator. He served as a Cook County, Illinois Juvenile Court judge, attorney, U.S. Army Air Force/U.S. Air Force officer and combat fighter pilot with ...

, a former member of the

Tuskegee Airmen The Tuskegee Airmen were a group of primarily African American military pilots (fighter and bomber) and airmen who fought in World War II. They formed the 332nd Fighter Group and the 477th Fighter Group, 477th Bombardment Group (Medium) of th ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, on December 7, 1946; they had one child, investment executive

John W. Rogers Jr. John Washington Rogers Jr. (born March 31, 1958) is an American investor and founder of Ariel Capital Management (now Ariel Investments, LLC), founded in 1983. He is chairman and co-CEO of the company, which is the United States' largest minori ...

(born 1958). The couple divorced in 1961. She remarried, to Haitian-American attorney H. Ernest Lafontant in 1961, and remained married to him until his death in October 1976. She married Naguib Soby Mankarious in 1989 and was married to him until her death in 1997. She received a

Candace Award The Candace Award is an award that was given from 1982 to 1992 by the National Coalition of 100 Black Women (NCBW) to "Black role models of uncommon distinction who have set a standard of excellence for young people of all races". Candace (prono ...

for Distinguished Service from the

National Coalition of 100 Black Women The National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Inc. (NCBW) is a non-profit volunteer organization for African American women. Its members address common issues in their communities, families and personal lives, promoting gender and racial equity. His ...

in 1983.

Death

Jewel Stradford Lafontant-Mankarious died of

breast cancer Breast cancer is a cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a Breast lump, lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, Milk-rejection sign, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipp ...

at her home in Chicago on May 31, 1997, aged 75.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lafontant, Jewel 1922 births 1997 deaths 20th-century American lawyers Delta Sigma Theta members Illinois Republicans Lawyers from Chicago Nixon administration personnel Oberlin College alumni University of Chicago Law School alumni Vaughan family (Lagos) American people of Yoruba descent American people of Nigerian descent American people of Scottish descent 20th-century American women lawyers American corporate directors African-American business executives American women corporate directors 20th-century African-American lawyers Deaths from breast cancer in Illinois