Silas Robbins (February 14, 1857 – September 11, 1916) was the first

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

admitted to practice law in the U.S. state of

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the so ...

in 1889, and the first black person in

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County, Nebraska, Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. List of ...

to be admitted to the

Nebraska State Bar Association The Nebraska State Bar Association (NSBA) is the integrated ( mandatory) bar association of the US state of Nebraska. History In 1937, the Nebraska State Bar Association was created by order of the Nebraska Supreme Court. Its predecessor was a ...

Biography

Prior to serving in Nebraska, Robbins was admitted to the

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (un ...

in Indiana and Mississippi. In 1887 Robbins became the second African American to run for

Nebraska State Legislature The Nebraska Legislature (also called the Unicameral) is the legislature of the U.S. state of Nebraska. The Legislature meets at the Nebraska State Capitol in Lincoln. With 49 members, known as "senators", the Nebraska Legislature is the smal ...

, winning the endorsement of

Gilbert Hitchcock Gilbert Monell Hitchcock (September 18, 1859February 3, 1934) was an American congressman and U.S. Senator from Nebraska, and the founder of the ''Omaha World-Herald'' newspaper. Life and career Born in Omaha, Nebraska, Hitchcock was the son of ...

's ''

Omaha World-Herald The ''Omaha World-Herald'' is a daily newspaper in the midwestern United States, the primary newspaper of the Omaha-Council Bluffs metropolitan area. It was locally owned from its founding in 1885 until 2020, when it was sold to the newspaper c ...

''. After losing the race, Robbins continued to serve in Omaha. In 1889 Robbins became the first black lawyer admitted to practice in Nebraska, sixteen years after the

Nebraska Supreme Court The Nebraska Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Nebraska. The court consists of a chief justice and six associate justices. Each justice is initially appointed by the governor of Nebraska; using the Missouri Plan, each ju ...

ruled that blacks could not be excluded from serving on juries. In 1893 he secured a patent from the

United States Patent Office The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is an agency in the U.S. Department of Commerce that serves as the national patent office and trademark registration authority for the United States. The USPTO's headquarters are in Alex ...

for a game he created called "politics". When the

Populist Party Populist Party may refer to: *Croatian Popular Party (1919), a Croatian right-wing party also known as Croatian Populist Party * Indonesian National Populist Fortress Party, an Indonesian populist party supportive of Pancasila ideology *Narodnik, a ...

took power in Omaha, Robbins served as the tax commissioner from 1900 to 1901 and again from 1903 to 1905. Afterward he focused primarily on real estate law, and maintained a reputation as one of Omaha's "best known colored attorneys." Robbins committed suicide on September 11, 1916, by a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the temple, apparently motivated by a long-time illness."Silas Robbins kills self: Ill health cause," ''Omaha World-Herald''. September 12, 1916. p 3.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Robbins, Silas 1916 suicides African-American lawyers Lawyers from Omaha, Nebraska Year of birth unknown Nebraska lawyers Suicides by firearm in Nebraska Nebraska Populists Tax commissioners 1857 births 19th-century American lawyers 20th-century African-American people

Biography

See also

References