Margaret A. Burnham (born December 28, 1944)
is an American lawyer, University Distinguished Professor of Law at the
Northeastern University School of Law
The Northeastern University School of Law is the law school of Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts.
History
Northeastern University School of Law was founded by the Boston Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) in 1898 as the f ...
, founder of the
Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project, and co-founder of the Burnham-Nobles Digital Archive. Burnham is also the Faculty Co-Director for Northeastern Law's Center for Law, Equity and Race (CLEAR). She is a
Senate-confirmed nominee to be a member of the
Civil Rights Cold Case Records Review Board.
Early life and education
Burnham was born in
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson County. The population was 200,733 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List ...
, in 1944. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from
Tougaloo College
Tougaloo College is a private historically black college in the Tougaloo area of Jackson, Mississippi, United States. It is affiliated with the United Church of Christ and Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). It was established in 1869 by ...
and a Bachelor of Laws from the
University of Pennsylvania Law School
The University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School (also known as Penn Carey Law, or Penn Law; previously University of Pennsylvania Law School) is the law school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private Ivy League research university in Phi ...
.
Career
Burnham's legal practice included serving as an attorney with the
NAACP Legal Defense Fund.
[
In 1970, Burnham worked with CPUSA lawyer John Abt to defend ]Angela Davis
Angela Yvonne Davis (born January 26, 1944) is an American Marxist and feminist political activist, philosopher, academic, and author. She is Distinguished Professor Emerita of Feminist Studies and History of Consciousness at the University of ...
, her friend since childhood, and later wrote the foreword to Abt's memoir.[
]
In 1977, she became the first female African-American judge in Massachusetts, serving as an Associate Justice of the Boston Municipal Court
The Boston Municipal Court (BMC), officially the Boston Municipal Court Department of the Trial Court, is a department of the Trial Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States. The court hears criminal, civil, mental health, restr ...
until 1982.Ku Klux Klan
The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to KKK or Klan, is an American Protestant-led Christian terrorism, Christian extremist, white supremacist, Right-wing terrorism, far-right hate group. It was founded in 1865 during Reconstruction era, ...
kidnapping, torture and killing of two 19-year-olds, Henry Dee and Charles Eddie Moore.
On June 11, 2021, President Joe Biden
Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...
nominated Burnham to be a member of the Civil Rights Cold Case Records Review Board. The Senate's Homeland Security committee held hearings on Burnham's nomination on January 13, 2022. The committee favorably reported her nomination on February 2, 2022. Burnham was officially confirmed by the entire Senate via voice vote
In parliamentary procedure, a voice vote (from the Latin ''viva voce'', meaning "by live voice") or acclamation is a voting method in deliberative assemblies (such as legislatures) in which a group vote is taken on a topic or motion by respondin ...
on February 17, 2022.
Burnham has authored and coauthored numerous articles; and one book, ''By Hands Now Known: Jim Crow’s Legal Executioners'', which examines the history of racialized lethal violence during the Jim Crow era. ''By Hands Now Known'' received positive reviews in ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' and won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for History in 2022. It has also won the 2023 Hillman Prize for Book Journalism, and The Hurston/Wright Legacy Award. ''By Hands Now Known'' was also a finalist for the 2022 Kirkus Prize for Nonfiction, and has been named a Best Book of the Year by ''The New Yorker
''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...
'', '' Oprah Daily'', ''Kirkus Reviews
''Kirkus Reviews'' is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus. The magazine's publisher, Kirkus Media, is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fiction, no ...
'', Chicago Public Library
The Chicago Public Library (CPL) is the public library system that serves the Chicago, City of Chicago in the U.S. state of Illinois. It consists of 81 locations, including a central library, three regional libraries, and branches distributed thr ...
, and ''Publishers Weekly
''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...
''.
Personal life
Burnham's father was Louis E. Burnham, an activist and journalist. Her sister, Linda Burnham, is also an activist and journalist. Her brother, Charles Burnham, is a violinist and composer. She is also related to Forbes Burnham
Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham (20 February 1923 – 6 August 1985) was a Guyanese politician and the leader of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana from 1964 until his death in 1985. He served as Prime Minister of Guyana, Premier of British Guia ...
, the second president of Guyana
The president of Guyana is the head of state and the head of government of Guyana, as well as the commander-in-chief of the armed forces of the Republic, according to the Constitution of Guyana. The president is also the chancellor of the Orde ...
.
See also
* List of African-American jurists
* List of first women lawyers and judges in Massachusetts
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burnham, Margaret
1944 births
Living people
American civil rights lawyers
Judges of the Boston Municipal Court
Northeastern University School of Law faculty
People associated with the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund
Academics from Birmingham, Alabama
Lawyers from Birmingham, Alabama
Tougaloo College alumni
University of Pennsylvania Law School alumni
African-American women academics