Constance Baker Motley was a pioneering lawyer, judge, and public official whose legal work helped dismantle segregation across the United States—including in Northern communities such as Englewood, New Jersey.

She attended Fisk University before transferring to New York University, where she graduated with a B.A. in Economics in 1943. She then earned her Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) from Columbia University in 1946. Soon after graduating, Motley joined the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund (LDF), where she became one of the nation’s leading civil rights attorneys.

Motley played a major role in the legal campaign against segregation. She worked on the legal team that prepared briefs for Brown v. Board of Education (1954), the landmark Supreme Court case that declared segregated public schools unconstitutional. She later became the first African American woman to argue a case before the U.S. Supreme Court, winning the case Meredith v. Fair, which secured the admission of James Meredith to the University of Mississippi.

Although much public attention focused on Southern segregation, Motley was deeply involved in Northern school desegregation efforts, including cases in New Jersey and New York. In Englewood, New Jersey, she represented Black parents—particularly mothers whose children attended Lincoln School—who challenged the Englewood Board of Education in the early 1950s. These parents charged that the school board had drawn attendance boundaries in ways that concentrated Black children into segregated schools.

Legal filings in the Englewood case argued that school officials had an affirmative duty to prevent segregation, not merely avoid overt discrimination. The complaints alleged that zoning lines had been deliberately drawn so that most of the city’s Black population fell into a single district, maintaining all-Black elementary and junior high schools “without just cause.” Early complaints were filed by parents including Susanne Anderson (1953) and Mary Walker (1954), and the litigation involved attorneys from the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, including Motley.

Motley’s work in Englewood reflected a broader Northern civil rights strategy. She frequently spoke to community organizations and NAACP chapters about desegregation progress and legal strategy. Reports from the mid-1950s noted that she highlighted successful Northern cases and pointed to Englewood as an example where segregated schools were dismantled through boundary changes and legal pressure, demonstrating that segregation was not limited to the South.

Beyond Englewood, Motley represented major figures and movements of the Civil Rights Movement, including Martin Luther King Jr., Freedom Riders, and student activists. Her courtroom victories helped establish legal precedents that expanded educational access and civil rights protections nationwide.

Motley later entered public service and broke numerous barriers. In 1964, she became the first African American woman elected to the New York State Senate. In 1965, she became Borough President of Manhattan, the first woman to hold that office. In 1966, President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed her as a Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, making her the first African American woman to serve as a federal judge. She served until 1986, including as Chief Judge from 1982 to 1986, and continued as Senior Judge from 1986 until 2005.

She married Joel Motley Jr. in 1946, and they had one child, Joel Wilson Motley III.

Constance Baker Motley’s legacy extends beyond landmark national cases. Her work in communities like Englewood, New Jersey, helped demonstrate that segregation in the North—often enforced through school zoning rather than explicit laws—could be challenged and dismantled through persistent legal action. Her career stands as a powerful example of how legal advocacy reshaped American education and civil rights.

“Constance Baker Motley.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 26 Aug. 2024.

“Constance Baker Motley.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 26 Aug. 2024.