Constance Baker Motley

Constance Baker Motley, a law graduate of Columbia University was a life-long Civil Rights activist, fighting many of the nation’s landmark segregation cases from 1945-64. She wrote the original complaint in the case of Brown v. Board of Education, served as chief counsel for James Meredith in his fight to enter the University of Mississippi and led the defense for “Freedom Fighters” who rode interstate buses to test the success of desegregation laws.
While still a graduate student, Motley joined the staff of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. From October 1961 to December 1964, she became the first black woman to contend before the U.S. Supreme Court, arguing 10 cases and winning nine. During the following years, Motley was the first black woman to be elected into the New York State Senate and to be appointed Manhattan Borough president. Against the protests of conservative senators, President Lyndon Johnson appointed Motley the first black female Federal Court Judge in 1966. She served as the federal judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, including a term as chief judge, until her death in 2005.
Motley received many honorary degrees and more than 50 awards, including the Frederick Douglass Award from the New York Urban League and the Springarn Medal from the NAACP. In 1993, she was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame. In 2001, President Bill Clinton awarded her the Presidential Citizens Medal in recognition of her achievements and service to the nation. She died in 2005.
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May 16, 2021
Librarian of Congress Carla HaydenFebruary 3, 2021
Supreme Court Associate Justice Ruth Bader GinsburgJanuary 22, 2015
Dr. Janet L. YellenNovember 10, 2013
The Most Reverend Doctor Katharine Jefferts SchoriOctober 27, 2011
Eunice Kennedy Shriver-
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Rabbi Sally J. Priesand -
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Dr. Wangari Maathai Sc.D.'94, P '94, P '96 -
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Dr. Priscilla A. Schaffer '64, Sc.D. '94 -
September 7, 2004
Bishop Barbara Clementine Harris September 9, 2003
Loretta C. FordSeptember 4, 2001
Madeleine K. AlbrightMay 15, 1998
Billie Jean KingFebruary 10, 1996
Wilma MankillerSeptember 23, 1993
Barbara JordanSeptember 27, 1991
Margaret Chase SmithFebruary 22, 1991
Dr. Antonia C. NovelloFebruary 19, 1988
Barbara Aronstein BlackOctober 9, 1985
Cicely SaundersMarch 8, 1985
Sandra Day O’ConnorFebruary 11, 1984
Hannah Holborn GrayFebruary 26, 1982
Agnes George de MilleFebruary 15, 1980
Mary Douglas LeakeySeptember 30, 1977
Mary S. CalderoneOctober 3, 1975
Antonia BricoJanurary 23, 1974
Frances Keller HardingMay 28, 1973
Judith Graham PoolJune 8, 1972
Marian AndersonApril 10, 1972
Mary LaskerJune 13, 1971
Mina ReesJune 14, 1970
Helen Brooke TaussigJune 15, 1969
Georgiana SibleyJune 16, 1968
Constance Baker MotleySeptember 8, 1967
Catharine MacfarlaneJuly 10, 1966
Fe del MundoJune 13, 1965
Annette LeMeitour-KaplunJune 14, 1964
Margaret MeadJune 9, 1963
Marty MannJune 10, 1962
Frances PerkinsJune 18,1961
Leona BaumgartnerJune 12, 1960
Miki SawadaJune 14, 1959
Elisabeth Luce MooreSeptember 27, 1958
Gwendolyn Grant Mellon