Robert Lee Carter (March 11, 1917 – January 3, 2012) was an American lawyer,

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' political freedom, freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and ...

activist Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived common good. Forms of activism range from mandate build ...

and a

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 ...

of the

United States District Court for the Southern District of New York The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (in case citations, S.D.N.Y.) is a federal trial court whose geographic jurisdiction encompasses eight counties of the State of New York. Two of these are in New York Ci ...

Personal history and early life

Carter was born on March 11, 1917, in Caryville,

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. As part of the Great Migration of southern blacks moving north, his mother Annie Martin Carter took him, when he was six weeks old, and his siblings, to Newark,

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, where his father, Robert L. Carter Sr., worked. However, his father died when he was a year old. Nonetheless, the family stayed in Newark, and his mother worked as a laundress to support her family, helped by her eldest daughter, who worked as a seamstress until marrying when Carter was 12. Carter began high school at

Barringer High School Barringer Academy of the Arts & Humanities (formerly Barringer High School and Newark High School), is a four-year comprehensive public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades in Newark, in Essex County, in the U.S. sta ...

in Newark. The family moved to

East Orange East Orange is a City (New Jersey), city in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 69,612, an increase of 5,342 (+8.3%) from the 2010 United States ...

, New Jersey during Carter's high school years, where Carter's activism began after he read that a state court had ruled against racially discriminatory practices such as that high school's only allowing black students to use the swimming pool on Fridays, and entered the pool with white students, defying a teacher's threats. The school chose to close down its pool rather than integrate it. Carter graduated at age 16 from

East Orange High School East Orange High School was a comprehensive community public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades from 1891 to 2002 in East Orange, in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. For most of its existence, the schoo ...

after having skipped two grades. Carter earned an Artium Baccalaureus degree in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

from Lincoln University in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

in 1937 and his

Bachelor of Laws A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

from

Howard University School of Law Howard University School of Law (Howard Law or HUSL) is the law school of Howard University, a private, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is one of the oldest law schools in the country and the old ...

in 1940, both on scholarship and from predominantly black institutions. Carter earned his

Master of Laws A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is a postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in another subject. In many jurisdi ...

from

Columbia Law School Columbia Law School (CLS) is the Law school in the United States, law school of Columbia University, a Private university, private Ivy League university in New York City. The school was founded in 1858 as the Columbia College Law School. The un ...

in 1941, after writing an influential master's thesis that would later define the NAACP's legal strategy on the right to freedom of association under the

First Amendment to the United States Constitution The First Amendment (Amendment I) to the United States Constitution prevents Federal government of the United States, Congress from making laws respecting an Establishment Clause, establishment of religion; prohibiting the Free Exercise Cla ...

. Carter joined the

United States Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical ri ...

a few months before the United States entered

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 ...

. Experiences such as a white captain's welcoming him to the Augusta,

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

station by telling him that they did not believe in educating black people, made Carter militant. Nonetheless, Carter completed Officer Candidate School and received a commission as lieutenant. As the only black officer at Harding Field in

Baton Rouge Baton Rouge ( ; , ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It had a population of 227,470 at the 2020 United States census, making it List of municipalities in Louisiana, Louisiana's second-m ...

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

, Carter integrated the officer's club, to the consternation of many. He then transferred to

Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451–1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, the capital city of the U.S. state of Ohio * Columbus, Georgia, a city i ...

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

, but continued to face hostility based on his race. In 1946, Carter married Gloria Spencer (who died in 1971) and had two sons: John W. Carter, who became a justice of the

New York Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the superior court in the Judiciary of New York. It is vested with unlimited civil and criminal jurisdiction, although in many counties outside New York City it acts primarily as a court of civil ju ...

the Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

, and David Carter.

Civil rights advocate

In 1944, as Carter's wartime service ended, he began working at the

NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (NAACP LDF, the Legal Defense Fund, or LDF) is an American civil rights organization and law firm based in New York City. LDF is wholly independent and separate from the NAACP. Although LDF ca ...

("LDF"), and the following year he became an assistant special counsel at the LDF. By 1948 Carter had become a legal assistant to

Thurgood Marshall Thoroughgood "Thurgood" Marshall (July 2, 1908 – January 24, 1993) was an American civil rights lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1967 until 1991. He was the Supreme C ...

. He worked on a number of major school desegregation cases, including ''

Sipuel v. Board of Regents of the University of Oklahoma ''Sipuel v. Board of Regents of the University of Oklahoma'', 332 U.S. 631 (1948), is a ''per curiam'' United States Supreme Court decision involving racial segregation toward African Americans by the University of Oklahoma and the application of ...

'' (1948), '' Sweatt v. Painter'' (1950) and '' McLaurin v. Oklahoma State Regents'' (1950). Later, he argued on behalf of Oliver Brown, the plaintiff in one of the five school desegregation cases consolidated into ''

Brown v. Board of Education ''Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka'', 347 U.S. 483 (1954), was a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court that ruled that U.S. state laws establishing racial segregation in public schools are unconstitutional, even if the ...

'' upon reaching the

U.S. Supreme Court 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 turn on question ...

. Carter advocated bringing in psychological research by

Kenneth and Mamie Clark Kenneth Bancroft Clark (July 24, 1914 – May 1, 2005) and Mamie Phipps Clark (April 18, 1917 – August 11, 1983) were American psychologists who as a married team conducted research among children and were active in the Civil Rights Movement ...

on the deleterious effects that segregated schools had upon minority students' learning and development, which the unanimous court later relied upon in overturning ''

Plessy v. Ferguson ''Plessy v. Ferguson'', 163 U.S. 537 (1896), was a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision ruling that racial segregation laws did not violate the U.S. Constitution as long as the facilities for each race were equal in quality, a doctrine that ...

'' and deeming public school segregation unconstitutional. He subsequently worked on ''

Griffin v. County School Board of Prince Edward County ''Griffin v. County School Board of Prince Edward County'', 377 U.S. 218 (1964), is a case decided by the Supreme Court of the United States that held that the County School Board of Prince Edward County, Virginia's decision to close all local, p ...

'', challenging a Virginia school board's attempt to avoid the desegregation required by ''Brown''. In 1956, after the separation of LDF from the NAACP, Carter succeeded

as the

general counsel A general counsel, also known as chief counsel or chief legal officer (CLO), is the chief in-house lawyer for a company or a governmental department. In a company, the person holding the position typically reports directly to the CEO, and their ...

of the

NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is an American civil rights organization formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. B. Du&nbs ...

. He argued and won '' NAACP v. Alabama'' (1958), which blocked Alabama's attempts to gather NAACP membership lists, and '' Gomillion v. Lightfoot'' (1960), which found that Alabama's racial gerrymandering of an electoral district in Tuskegee violated the 15th Amendment. However, he was disappointed in 1961 when Marshall chose

Jack Greenberg Jack Greenberg (December 22, 1924 – October 12, 2016) was an American attorney and legal scholar. He was the Director-Counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund from 1961 to 1984, succeeding Thurgood Marshall. He was involved in numerous crucial ...

, a white attorney, as his successor as LDF's President and Director-Counsel over him. Nonetheless, Carter argued and won ''

NAACP v. Button ''NAACP v. Button'', 371 U.S. 415 (1963), is a ruling by the Supreme Court of the United States which held that the reservation of jurisdiction by a federal district court did not bar the U.S. Supreme Court from reviewing a state court's ruling, ...

'' (1963), in which the Supreme Court struck down a Virginia statute restricting

public interest litigation The chief instrument through which judicial activism has flourished in India is public interest litigation (PIL) or social action litigation (SAL). It refers to litigation undertaken to secure public interest and demonstrates the availability ...

. Like ''NAACP v. Alabama'', the ''Button'' decision eliminated a tool of massive resistance employed by some Southern states in response to ''Brown'', and applied the First Amendment theories Carter began developing as a student at Columbia Law School. In all, while working for the NAACP and LDF, Carter argued 22 cases before the Supreme Court, winning 21 of them.

Civic and legal involvement

Carter was a member of

Alpha Phi Alpha Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. () is the oldest intercollegiate List of African-American fraternities, historically African American Fraternities and sororities, fraternity. It was initially a literary and social studies club organized in the ...

fraternity, and a co-founder of the

National Conference of Black Lawyers The National Conference of Black Lawyers (NCBL) is an American association, formed in 1968, to offer legal assistance to black civil rights activists, it is made up of judges, law students, lawyers, legal activists, legal workers, and scholars. ...

. He served as a member of numerous bar and court-appointed committees, and was associated with a very wide array of educational institutions, organizations and foundations.

Resignation from NAACP

In 1968, Carter, along with his entire legal staff, resigned in protest from the NAACP after the organization fired attorney Lewis M. Steel for criticizing the Supreme Court in a ''

The New York Times Magazine ''The New York Times Magazine'' is an American Sunday magazine included with the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times''. It features articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted many notable contributors. The magazi ...

'' piece. Carter believed that the NAACP board fired Steel because it felt the legal department was taking on cases that were too controversial. Carter then worked at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

's Urban Center, and joined the New York law firm of Poletti, Freidin, Prashker, Feldman & Gartner.

Judicial career

On June 15, 1972, upon the recommendation of

United States Senator The United States Senate consists of 100 members, two from each of the 50 U.S. state, states. This list includes all senators serving in the 119th United States Congress. Party affiliation Independent Senators Angus King of Maine and Berni ...

Jacob Javits Jacob Koppel Javits ( ; May 18, 1904 – March 7, 1986) was an American lawyer and politician from New York. During his time in politics, he served in both chambers of the United States Congress, a member of the United States House of Representa ...

, 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 ...

nominated Carter to a seat on the

vacated by Judge Thomas Francis Croake. 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 ...

confirmed Carter on July 21, 1972, and he received his commission on July 25, 1972. He assumed senior status on December 31, 1986, and continued serving in that capacity until his death on January 3, 2012.

Notable cases

As a judge, Carter handled litigation concerning the merger of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

and the

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major professional basketball league that operated for nine seasons from 1967 to 1976. The upstart ABA operated in direct competition with the more established National Basketball Association thr ...

, as well as settled a basketball antitrust lawsuit and presided over several cases involving basketball stars. Carter also handled cases involving discrimination against black and Hispanic applicants to the New York City police force.

Later life and legacy

Carter wrote numerous law review articles and essays on civil rights and discrimination in the United States, often focusing on school segregation; he also wrote about his longtime friends and colleagues

and

Charles Hamilton Houston Charles Hamilton Houston (September 3, 1895 – April 22, 1950)Spingarn Medal The Spingarn Medal is awarded annually by the NAACP, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) for an outstanding achievement by an African Americans, African American. The award was created in 1914 by Joel Elias Spingarn, ...

. In November of the same year,

Fordham University School of Law Fordham University School of Law is the law school of Fordham University. The school is located in Manhattan in New York City, and is one of eight ABA-approved law schools in that city. According to Fordham University School of Law's ABA- ...

awarded Carter an honorary

Doctor of Laws A Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) is a doctoral degree in legal studies. The abbreviation LL.D. stands for ''Legum Doctor'', with the double “L” in the abbreviation referring to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both canon law ...

degree recognizing his civil rights achievements. In 2005, Carter published a memoir of his experience as a civil rights advocate, ''A Matter of Law'', with a preface by historian

John Hope Franklin John Hope Franklin (January 2, 1915 – March 25, 2009) was an American historian of the United States and former president of Phi Beta Kappa, the Organization of American Historians, the American Historical Association, the American Studies ...

. In 2010, Patricia Sullivan interviewed Carter as part of the Civil Rights History project. His papers are at the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

Death

Carter died in a Manhattan hospital on January 3, 2012, of complications of a

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

, and was survived by both sons, a grandchild, and his sister Alma Carter Lawson.

References

External links

* *

Eyes on the Prize ''Eyes on the Prize: America's Civil Rights Movement'' is an American television series documentary about the civil rights movement in the United States. The documentary originally aired on the PBS network, and it also aired in the United Kin ...

Interview with Robert Carter; Interview with Judge Robert Carter
(November 5, 1985) at the

American Archive of Public Broadcasting The American Archive of Public Broadcasting (AAPB) is a collaboration between the Library of Congress and WGBH Educational Foundation, founded through the efforts of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). The AAPB is a national effort to di ...

Robert L. Carter's oral history videos
at the National Visionary Leadership Project {{DEFAULTSORT:Carter, Robert Lee 1917 births 2012 deaths 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American judges 20th-century African-American lawyers African-American judges American civil rights lawyers Assistant United States attorneys Barringer High School alumni Columbia Law School alumni East Orange High School alumni People from East Orange, New Jersey Howard University School of Law alumni Judges of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York Lawyers from Newark, New Jersey Lincoln University (Pennsylvania) alumni People associated with the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund People from Washington County, Florida United States Army Air Forces officers United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II United States district court judges appointed by Richard Nixon