Orzell Billingsley
Orzell Billingsley | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Born | October 24, 1924 Birmingham, Alabama, U.S. |
Died | December 14, 2001 Birmingham, Alabama, U.S. | (aged 77)
Education | |
Occupation | Lawyer |
Known for | One of the first ten blacks to be admitted to the Alabama State Bar |
Orzell Billingsley (October 24, 1924 – December 14, 2001) was one of the first ten African-Americans admitted to the Alabama Bar; he was also known for his work in civil rights litigation, and he was one of the lead lawyers for Martin Luther King Jr. during the 1955 Montgomery bus boycott.
Co-founder of the
Early life and education
Orzell Billingsley was born in Birmingham, Alabama. He had a brother. After attending local schools, he studied at Talladega College and the law school of Howard University. He was among the first ten African-Americans to be admitted to the Alabama bar.
Career
Billingsley set up a practice in Birmingham, where he was long involved in civil rights litigation. He often defended African Americans accused of crimes, and was known for his 15-year long defense of Caliph Washington.
He was arrested for "acting as an agent of a foreign corporation," when he filed a deed on behalf of the Nation of Islam to secure farmland in Alabama.[2]
Presidents
Billingsley was a co-founder of the Alabama Democratic Conference, a statewide organization for African-American politics. He was a founding member of the Alabama Lawyers Association.[4] He challenged the white practice of addressing African Americans by their first names in court, winning them the right to be called by their full proper names and titles during court proceedings. He was known as the "black Patrick Henry of Alabama."[5]
References
- ^ [http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?r107:2:./temp/~r107BOoKfd:: [dead link]
- ^ "WALLACE v. BREWER". Alabama: Leagle, Inc. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
- Birmingham News. Birmingham Public Library Digital Collections. Retrieved 5 March 2011.
- ^ "History & Mission". Alabama Lawyers Association. Retrieved May 20, 2017.
- ISSN 0021-5996.