Matthew James Perry Jr. (August 3, 1921 – July 29, 2011) was an attorney and in 1979 appointed as the first African-American

United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district. Each district covers one U.S. state or a portion of a state. There is at least one feder ...

in South Carolina, serving on the

United States District Court for the District of South Carolina The United States District Court for the District of South Carolina (in case citations, D.S.C.) is the federal district court whose jurisdiction is the state of South Carolina. Court is held in the cities of Aiken, Anderson, Beaufort, Charle ...

. In 1976, he had been the first African-American attorney from the Deep South to be appointed to the federal judiciary when he served on the United States Court of Military Appeals. Perry established his career with civil rights litigation, defending Gloria Blackwell in Orangeburg, South Carolina, in her 1962 suit against her arrest for sitting in the whites-only area of the regional hospital while waiting for emergency treatment for her daughter. Other landmark cases included achieving the integration of

Clemson University Clemson University () is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university near Clemson, South Carolina, United States. - The blue-shaded pattern denotes university property. This shows Clemson University is ''out ...

and reapportionment of the state legislature.

Early life, military service, education, and career

Born in Columbia,

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

, Perry attended local segregated schools and started college studying business. He served 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 ...

in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

from 1943 to 1946. He finished college after the war, receiving a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

degree from

South Carolina State University South Carolina State University (SCSU or SC State) is a public, historically black, land-grant university in Orangeburg, South Carolina. It is the only public, historically black land-grant research university in South Carolina, is a member o ...

in 1948. He went on to earn a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from South Carolina State University School of Law in 1951. He was in private practice in

Spartanburg Spartanburg is a city in and the county seat of Spartanburg County, South Carolina, United States. The city had a population of 38,732 as of the 2020 census, making it the 11th-most populous city in the state. The Office of Management and Budg ...

from 1951 to 1961.

Civil rights activism

Moving to the state capital of Columbia, Perry was in private practice from 1961 to 1976. He built his reputation as a civil rights attorney in the 1960s. When finishing his undergraduate degree after WWII, Perry concluded that he needed to learn and practice law, due to "a growing awareness of racial injustices, many of them manifested by state laws."Wallace, Allen: "Remembering a Legend: Judge Matthew Perry," WLTX- Columbia, SC Perry gained notoriety by representing Gloria Blackwell, an African-American teacher in Orangeburg, South Carolina, who was arrested with her daughter

Lurma Rackley Lurma M. Rackley (born April 24, 1949)
(January 1, 2009). Retrieved June 11, ...

for sitting in a "whites only" waiting room while awaiting emergency treatment for the girl. Perry insisted that he be allowed to build the case around racial discrimination. He was charged with contempt and briefly jailed for making what the court deemed to be "remarks disrespectful to the court." The case against Blackwell was eventually dismissed by the court, and the hospital was integrated thanks in part to Perry's efforts. Perry led the successful court case in 1963 for Harvey B. Gantt to integrate

. Gantt successfully enrolled and graduated, the first African-American student to enroll at the formerly all-white institution. Perry also led a major South Carolina reapportionment case in 1972, to require redistricting in order to more fairly represent urban areas in relation to their population, based on the "

one man, one vote "One man, one vote" or "one vote, one value" is a slogan used to advocate for the principle of equal representation in voting. This slogan is used by advocates of democracy and political equality, especially with regard to electoral reforms like ...

" principle. Numerous state legislatures had not redistricted since the beginning of the 20th century, although required to review apportionment after every decennial census. Perry ran for the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

as a

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in 1974, but lost to Republican incumbent

Floyd Spence Floyd Davidson Spence (April 9, 1928 – August 16, 2001) was an American attorney and a politician from the U.S. state of South Carolina. Elected for three terms to the South Carolina House of Representatives from Lexington County as a Democra ...

. Chief United States District Judge Joseph Anderson once wrote "to say that Matthew Perry was good in the courtroom is like saying

Mickey Mantle Mickey Charles Mantle (October 20, 1931 – August 13, 1995), nicknamed "the Mick" and "the Commerce Comet", was an American professional baseball player who played his entire Major League Baseball (MLB) career (1951–1968) with the New York ...

knew how to swing a bat . . . Aristotle taught that lawyers and judges should be the very personification of justice. Matthew J. Perry Jr. comes as close as any person I have known to meeting Aristotle's ideal." Perry led many landmark civil rights cases, including the case that resulted in the integration of Clemson University through the Perry won the case that forced Clemson University administrators to accept and enroll African-American students. He managed to win over everyone he came across in the process of litigation, including opponents. Former Clemson President Robert Cook Edwards stated that "Matthew Perry's gentle personality and character were the ingredients that made it (the peaceful integration of Clemson) possible to happen without bloodshed."

Federal judicial service

Perry was the first

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

lawyer from the

Deep South The Deep South or the Lower South is a cultural and geographic subregion of the Southern United States. The term is used to describe the states which were most economically dependent on Plantation complexes in the Southern United States, plant ...

to be appointed to the federal judiciary. In 1976, President

Gerald Ford Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. (born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was the 38th president of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, Ford assumed the p ...

appointed Perry to the United States Military Court of Appeals (now the

United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces The United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces (in case citations, C.A.A.F. or USCAAF) is an Article I court that exercises worldwide appellate jurisdiction over members of the United States Armed Forces on active duty and other persons ...

) in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

Perry's nomination was even supported by Senator

Strom Thurmond James Strom Thurmond Sr. (December 5, 1902 – June 26, 2003) was an American politician who represented South Carolina in the United States Senate from 1954 to 2003. Before his 49 years as a senator, he served as the 103rd governor of South ...

, known as a

segregationist Racial segregation is the separation of people into racial or other ethnic groups in daily life. Segregation can involve the spatial separation of the races, and mandatory use of different institutions, such as schools and hospitals by peopl ...

and Dixiecrat. Perry had dated Thurmond's daughter,

Essie Mae Washington-Williams Essie Mae Washington-Williams ( Butler; October 12, 1925 – February 4, 2013) was an American teacher and author. She was the eldest child of Strom Thurmond, Governor of South Carolina and longtime United States senator widely denigrated for h ...

, briefly in 1947. On July 5, 1979, Perry was nominated by President

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...

to a new seat on the

created by 92 Stat. 1629. He was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

on September 19, 1979, and received his commission the following day. He was the first African-American federal judge in South Carolina. He assumed senior status on October 1, 1995 and continued to be active at court until his death.

Death

Perry was found dead, aged 89, at his home in Columbia on Sunday July 31, 2011 by a family member. His wife Hallie was reportedly in poor health. He was reported to have died on Friday after attending court that day.

Honors

*2005, a new federal courthouse in Columbia, South Carolina was named for him. *A portrait of Perry, painted by South Carolina artist

Larry Francis Lebby Larry Francis Lebby, (September 8, 1950 – July 21, 2019) is a native South Carolinian. He was a nationally known painter, printmaker and artist working in Columbia, South Carolina. Early life and education Lebby was one of the Black student ...

, hangs in the federal courthouse. *A parking garage in Columbia, South Carolina bears his name. *A historical marker in the Waverly Historic District conferred by the South Carolina Department of Archives and History, marks the site of his childhood home."Historical Markers and War Memorials in Richland County, South Carolina". ''The Historical Marker Database''. 2022. Retrieved January 2, 2023.

References

Sources

* * W. Lewis Burke and Belinda F. Gergel, eds. ''Matthew J. Perry: The Man, His Times, and His Legacy''. Introduction by

Randall Kennedy Randall LeRoy Kennedy (born September 10, 1954) is an American legal scholar. He is the Michael R. Klein Professor of Law at Harvard University and his research focuses on the intersection of racial conflict and legal institutions in American l ...

ISBN 978-1-57003-534-0.

University of South Carolina Press The University of South Carolina Press is an Academic publishing, academic publisher associated with the University of South Carolina. It was founded in 1944. According to Casey Clabough, the quality of its list of authors and book design became s ...

, 2004. {{DEFAULTSORT:Perry, Matthew J. 1921 births 2011 deaths Lawyers from Columbia, South Carolina South Carolina State University alumni Military personnel from South Carolina African-American judges 20th-century African-American lawyers 20th-century American lawyers Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces Judges of the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina United States federal judges appointed by Gerald Ford United States district court judges appointed by Jimmy Carter South Carolina Democrats United States Army personnel of World War II