Matthew J. Perry

Matthew J. Perry

The Man, His Times, and His Legacy

  • Author: Burke, Jr., W. Lewis; Gergel, Belinda F.; Kennedy, Randall L.
  • Publisher: University of South Carolina Press
  • ISBN: 9781570035340
  • eISBN Pdf: 9781643362090
  • Place of publication:  South Carolina , United States
  • Year of digital publication: 2021
  • Month: February
  • DDC: 340/.092 B
  • Language: English

The landmark—but largely unsung—career of a civil rights pioneer

Matthew J. Perry: The Man, His Times, and His Legacy chronicles the life and accomplishments of the attorney who led the struggle for desegregation in South Carolina, served as a primary legal advocate in the national civil rights movement, and became South Carolina's first African American U.S. District Court judge. In this volume, scholars of the civil rights era, fellow civil rights activists, jurists, attorneys, a governor, and an award-winning photojournalist join together to produce a multilayered biography of Matthew J. Perry. Collectively they bring to light the remarkable achievements of a man well known in his home state but sometimes obscured on the national stage by the shadows of Thurgood Marshall, J. Waties Waring, and Charles Hamilton Houston.

This volume tells the story of Perry's life, including his humble beginnings in Columbia, his service to the nation during wartime, his remarkable career as a creator of positive social change, and, finally, his achievements as a respected member of the federal judiciary. The contributors describe Perry's courage, skills as an orator, quick legal mind, and genteel nature. They set his story in the turbulent civil–rights–era South, revealing how broad social, historical, and legal issues affected Perry's life and shaped the trajectory of his activist and professional life. The volume underscores how Perry enabled his home state to escape from Jim Crow's clutches with much less turmoil than many of its neighbors.

Published in concert with the dedication of the Matthew J. Perry, Jr. United States Courthouse in Columbia, South Carolina, this life story portrays an esteemed juror whose grace and resiliency led South Carolina into the twentieth century.

  • Cover
  • Matthew J. Perry THE MAN, HIS TIMES, AND HIS LEGACY
  • Title
  • Copyright
  • Contents
  • List of Illustrations
  • Foreword
  • Preface
  • Acknowledgments
  • Introduction: Matthew J. Perry, a Lawyer with a Cause
  • The South Carolina State College Law School: Its Roots, Creation, and Legacy
  • Matthew J. Perry’s Preparation
  • Before Rosa Parks: The Case of Sarah Mae Flemming
    • A POSTSCRIPT: Flemming’s Role in Matthew J. Perry’s Career
  • Matthew J. Perry’s Contribution to the Development of Constitutional Law
  • Personal Views of Matthew J. Perry: Vignettes
    • “Chief Counsel”
    • Tribute to Matthew J. Perry
    • A Remembrance of a “Cooperating” Attorney
    • A View of Matthew J. Perry from Opposing Counsel
    • An NAACP Field Director Remembers
    • The Five-Second Rule
    • The J. Arthur Brown Family: Clients’ Reflections on Matthew J. Perry
    • Recording the Role of Matthew J. Perry
    • For Freedom and Justice: Photographs
    • Judge Matthew J. Perry: A Leader
    • Judge Matthew J. Perry: My Mentor
    • The Honorable Matthew J. Perry: A Dear Friend and Wise Colleague
    • A Life Changed
  • The Civil Rights Advocate
  • Dining with Harvey Gantt: Myth and Realities of “Integration with Dignity”
  • Memory, History, and Community: The Assimilation of Houstonian Principles in the Career of Matthew J. Perry
  • Unfinished Transformation: Matthew J. Perry’s South Carolina
  • Index

Subjects

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