Edwin Archer Randolph (c. 1850- ''unknown'') was an American lawyer, politician, and journalist from

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. In 1880, Randolph became the first

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

to graduate from

Yale Law School Yale Law School (Yale Law or YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824 and has been ranked as the best law school in the United States by ''U ...

. In July 1880, Randolph was the first

to be admitted to the Connecticut bar. Randolph was born in about 1850, to a family of free parentage. In his youth, Randolph worked as a driver for a white physician, Dr. James B. McCaw. McCaw was the medical superintendent of

Chimborazo Hospital Chimborazo Hospital was a American Civil War, Civil War-era facility built in Richmond in the American Civil War, Richmond, Virginia to service the medical needs of the Confederate Army. It functioned between 1862 and 1865 in what is now Chimbo ...

, during the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

. In the mid-1870s Randolph left

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

to attend

Wayland Seminary Wayland Seminary was the Washington, D.C. school of the National Theological Institute. The institute was established beginning in 1865 by the American Baptist Home Mission Society (ABHMS). At first designed primarily for providing education and tra ...

and then in 1878 he entered Yale Law School. Whilst practicing law in Virginia, Randolph also served as a

councilman A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries. Canada Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...

and

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...

in Richmond. Randolph was elected to the common council in Richmond, from 1881 to 1883. From 1883 to 1886 he served on the board of alderman and from 1884 to 1885, he was on Virginia’s commissions for the World Exposition in New Orleans. Randolph also served on both houses of the Virginia state legislature and also edited and published an African-American newspaper, '' The Richmond Planet'', also edited by

John Mitchell Jr John Mitchell Jr. (July 11, 1863 – December 3, 1929) was an American businessman, newspaper editor, African American civil rights activist, and politician in Richmond, Virginia, particularly in Richmond's Jackson Ward, which became known as ...

. In 1884, he published ‘'The life of Rev.

John Jasper John Jasper (July 4, 1812 – March 30, 1901) was an ex-slave who became a Baptist minister and noted public speaker for Christianity after the American Civil War. Early life Born into slavery on July 4, 1812, in Fluvanna County, Virginia, to Phi ...

, pastor of Sixth Mt. Zion Baptist Church, Richmond, Va. : from his birth to the present time, with his theory on the rotation of the sun’'. The Lawyers Collaborative for Diversity (LCD) presents Edwin Archer Randolph Diversity Awards for those who promote "inclusion and advancement of lawyers of color and other professionals".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Randolph, Archer Edwin 1850s births 19th-century African-American lawyers 19th-century American lawyers Lawyers from Richmond, Virginia African-American journalists African-American state legislators in Virginia Yale Law School alumni Year of death missing Richmond, Virginia City Council members

See also

References