George Williamson Crawford: Difference between revisions
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'''George Williamson Crawford''' (1877–1972) was a lawyer, public servant, and activist for [[African-American Civil Rights Movement (1896–1954)|African-American civil rights]] in [[New Haven, Connecticut]]. |
'''George Williamson Crawford''' (1877–1972) was a lawyer, public servant, and activist for [[African-American Civil Rights Movement (1896–1954)|African-American civil rights]] in [[New Haven, Connecticut]]. |
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Crawford was born in [[Tuscaloosa, Alabama]] and attended the [[Tuskegee Institute]] and [[Talladega College]], both [[historically black college]]s.<ref name="Crawford">{{cite web|url=http:// |
Crawford was born in [[Tuscaloosa, Alabama]] and attended the [[Tuskegee Institute]] and [[Talladega College]], both [[historically black college]]s.<ref name="Crawford">{{cite web|url=http://georgecrawfordblackbar.org/who-we-are/our-history/|title=George W. Crawford Black Bar Association|accessdate=7 January 2013}}</ref> He then matriculated at [[Yale Law School]], where he was only the second black graduate after [[Edwin Archer Randolph]].<ref name="Crawford"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.yale.edu/yaaa/pioneers.html|title=Pioneers|publisher=Yale African American Affinity Group|accessdate=7 January 2013}}</ref> While at Yale he received the Townsend Prize awarded to the best orator at the law school, a prestigious award.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?_r=1&res=9F0DE0D61639E433A25750C2A9609C946297D6CF|title=Class Day at Yale|date=June 22, 1903|work=The New York Times|accessdate=7 January 2013}}</ref> The award, which included a prize of $100, was given for a speech titled, "Trades Unionism and Patriotism."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=4etTAAAAIBAJ&sjid=GTkNAAAAIBAJ&dq=george-williamson-crawford&pg=4358%2C1669002|title=Win Yale Law Prizes: Negro and Chinaman Divide Highest Commencement Honors|date=June 23, 1903|work=The Philadelphia Record|accessdate=8 January 2013}}</ref> He was appointed clerk of the Probate Court of New Haven immediately upon graduation in 1903.<ref>{{cite journal|date=1904–1905|journal=Yale Law Journal|volume=14|page=298|title=School and Alumni Notes|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=u0sbAAAAYAAJ&lpg=PA298&ots=IGWOK0_PKE&dq=George%20Crawford%20yale%201903&pg=PA298#v=onepage&q&f=true}}</ref> |
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From 1907 until the 1950s, Crawford worked in private practice in New Haven.<ref name="Smith">{{cite book|last=Smith|first=J. Clay|title=Emancipation: The Making of the Black Lawyer 1844-1944|publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press|location=Philadelphia|year=1993|pages=127; 162|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=1lOIjQUG4aoC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false}}</ref> He was particularly recognized for a high-profile case in which he won the acquittals of thirteen defendants (all white), political leaders of [[Waterbury, Connecticut]] who had been charged with criminal breach of the public trust.<ref name="Smith"/> From 1954 to 1962 he served as [[corporation counsel]] for the City of New Haven.<ref name="Crawford"/> |
From 1907 until the 1950s, Crawford worked in private practice in New Haven.<ref name="Smith">{{cite book|last=Smith|first=J. Clay|title=Emancipation: The Making of the Black Lawyer 1844-1944|publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press|location=Philadelphia|year=1993|pages=127; 162|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=1lOIjQUG4aoC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false}}</ref> He was particularly recognized for a high-profile case in which he won the acquittals of thirteen defendants (all white), political leaders of [[Waterbury, Connecticut]] who had been charged with criminal breach of the public trust.<ref name="Smith"/> From 1954 to 1962 he served as [[corporation counsel]] for the City of New Haven.<ref name="Crawford"/> |
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Revision as of 23:12, 11 November 2014
George Williamson Crawford (1877–1972) was a lawyer, public servant, and activist for African-American civil rights in New Haven, Connecticut.
Crawford was born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama and attended the Tuskegee Institute and Talladega College, both historically black colleges.[1] He then matriculated at Yale Law School, where he was only the second black graduate after Edwin Archer Randolph.[1][2] While at Yale he received the Townsend Prize awarded to the best orator at the law school, a prestigious award.[3] The award, which included a prize of $100, was given for a speech titled, "Trades Unionism and Patriotism."[4] He was appointed clerk of the Probate Court of New Haven immediately upon graduation in 1903.[5]
From 1907 until the 1950s, Crawford worked in private practice in New Haven.[6] He was particularly recognized for a high-profile case in which he won the acquittals of thirteen defendants (all white), political leaders of Waterbury, Connecticut who had been charged with criminal breach of the public trust.[6] From 1954 to 1962 he served as corporation counsel for the City of New Haven.[1]
Crawford was also active in the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and was one of the founders of the Greater New Haven branch of the organization.[7] He was also an outspoken freemason; he wrote a book on Prince Hall and black freemasonry.[8] At the end of his life, Crawford was recognized as a pioneering black lawyer and civic leader. Roy Wilkins, then executive director of the NAACP, said at a 1966 ceremony dedicating George Crawford Manor, a high-rise residential building for the elderly in New Haven, "It is difficult for a colored man to rise above differences, mistreatments, and inequalities to reach a place such as George Crawford has. He brought all the qualities that make up the American Dream. He served his community—not colored or white—but the whole community."[9] The George W. Crawford Black Bar Association, an organization of black lawyers in Connecticut, was named in his honor.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d "George W. Crawford Black Bar Association". Retrieved 7 January 2013.
- ^ "Pioneers". Yale African American Affinity Group. Retrieved 7 January 2013.
- ^ "Class Day at Yale". The New York Times. June 22, 1903. Retrieved 7 January 2013.
- ^ "Win Yale Law Prizes: Negro and Chinaman Divide Highest Commencement Honors". The Philadelphia Record. June 23, 1903. Retrieved 8 January 2013.
- ^ "School and Alumni Notes". Yale Law Journal. 14: 298. 1904–1905.
- ^ a b Smith, J. Clay (1993). Emancipation: The Making of the Black Lawyer 1844-1944. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. pp. 127, 162.
- ^ "About the Sustainer Program". Greater New Haven NAACP. Retrieved 7 January 2013.
- ^ Crawford, George Williamson (1914). Prince Hall and his Followers. New York: The Crisis.
- ^ "Wilkins Dedicates Home for Elderly, Hits GOP". Jet. October 13, 1996. p. 10. Retrieved 7 January 2013.