Dorothy L. Freeman was Missouri’s first African American female lawyer. Freeman was born in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

. She attended Sumner High School and Stowe Teachers College before earning a scholarship to

Lincoln University School of Law Lincoln University School of Law was a professional graduate school of Lincoln University (a historically Black university), which operated in St. Louis, Missouri from September 20, 1939, until it closed in 1955. Although Lincoln University’s ca ...

. She entered the institution in 1939 and worked as a student assistant for the library. In 1942, Freeman became the first African American woman to graduate from

and to be admitted to practice law in Missouri. While studying at Lincoln, she worked as a student assistant in the library and as a secretary for Silas Garner, a Black attorney and law school staff member. Due to an instructor shortage, Freeman was approached to serve as an educator at the law school. However, the school closed briefly in 1943, and Freeman instead became the first African American woman lawyer in

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Freeman, Dorothy L. 20th-century American lawyers Lincoln University (Missouri) alumni Lawyers from St. Louis Harris–Stowe State University alumni Year of birth missing Year of death missing 20th-century American women lawyers

See also

References