The National Bar Association (NBA) was founded in 1925 and is the nation's oldest and largest national network of predominantly
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 ...
attorneys and judges. It represents the interests of approximately 65,000 lawyers, judges, law professors, and law students. The NBA is organized around 23 substantive law sections, 9 divisions, 12 regions, and 80 affiliate chapters throughout the United States and around the world. The current and 75th president is Juan R. Thomas of Aurora, Illinois.
Structure and activities
The National Bar Association (NBA) is governed by a Board of Governors, mostly elected from the membership but also including NBA's officers and representatives of groups such as the NBA's Divisions.
The National Bar Association Young Lawyers Division, chaired by Khyla Craine, represents the new members of the legal profession, and membership is open to NBA members who have been admitted to practice for less than 10 years or are under 40 years old. The association has several affiliate chapters located throughout the United States, including The Cook County Bar Association,
The Barristers' Association of Philadelphia, the
California Association of Black Lawyers
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...
, the
Washington Bar Association, the Virgil Hawkins Florida Chapter National Bar Association, the
Garden State Bar Association and the
Metropolitan Black Bar Association.
The National Bar Institute (NBI) is the philanthropic arm of the NBA, founded in 1982. The association has established an annual award in honor of the late
Louisiana State Representative Pinkie C. Wilkerson
Pinkie may refer to:
Biology
* Pinky finger or little finger
* Pinkie, a baby mouse used as a food for exotic pets
* Bilby or pinkie, an animal in Southern Australia
* Pinkie, a rosemary cultivar
People
* Pinkie Barnes (1915–2012), English i ...
of
Grambling—the "Pinkie C. Wilkerson Outstanding State Legislator of the Year Award". The NBA offers a job listing service as well as advertising in its magazine to assist employers seeking to conduct affirmative action outreach toward minority job applicants.
History
The National Bar Association was established in 1925 as the "Negro Bar Association" after
Gertrude Rush
Gertrude Elzora Durden Rush (August 5, 1880 – September 5, 1962) was the first African-American female lawyer in Iowa, admitted to the Iowa bar in 1918.J. Clay Smith, Jr., Thurgood Marshall (1999). ''Emancipation: The Making of the Black Lawyer ...
,
George H. Woodson,
S. Joe Brown
S is the nineteenth letter of the English alphabet.
S may also refer to:
History
* an Anglo-Saxon charter's number in Peter Sawyer's, catalogue Language and linguistics
* Long s (ſ), a form of the lower-case letter s formerly used where " ...
,
James B. Morris
James is a common English language surname and given name:
* James (name), the typically masculine first name James
* James (surname), various people with the last name James
James or James City may also refer to:
People
* King James (disambigua ...
, and
Charles P. Howard, Sr., were denied membership in the
American Bar Association
The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. Founded in 1878, the ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of acad ...
. The young
Charles Hamilton Houston
Charles Hamilton Houston (September 3, 1895 – April 22, 1950) was a prominent African-American lawyer, Dean of Howard University Law School, and NAACP first special counsel, or Litigation Director. A graduate of Amherst College and Harvard ...
, future dean of
Howard University Law School, also helped with the founding.
[NAACP History: "Charles Hamilton Houston"](_blank)
, NAACP; accessed 14 May 2017
Its first president was George H. Woodson of
Des Moines
Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moine ...
,
Iowa
Iowa () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wiscon ...
.
Arnette Hubbard
Arnette is both a given name and surname. Notable people with the name include:
*Arnette Lamb (1947–1998), American writer
*Damon Arnette (born 1996), American football player
*Jay Arnette (born 1938), American basketball player
*Jeannetta Arnet ...
became the NBA's first female president in 1981.
In 1940, the NBA attempted to establish "free legal clinics in all cities with a colored population of 5,000 or more."
Its members supported litigation that achieved a US Supreme Court ruling that defendants had to be provided with legal counsel.
In 2010, the NBA partnered with the
U.S. Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...
to work toward a complete and accurate count of the nation's population through various outreach activities.
Affiliates
Alabama
* Birmingham: Brazil Bar Association
* Montgomery: Alabama Lawyers Association
Arkansas
* Little Rock: W. Harold Flowers Society
California
* Los Angeles: Black Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles
* Los Angeles: John M. Langston Bar Association
* Mill Valley: CA Association of Black Lawyers
* Oakland: Charles Houston Bar Association
* Sacramento: Wiley M. Manuel Bar Association
* San Diego: Earl B. Gilliam Bar Association
* Santa Clara: Black Women Lawyers Association of Northern CA
District of Columbia
* Washington: Morocco
* Washington: Washington Bar Association
* Washington: GWAC
Delaware
* Wilmington: Delaware Barristers Association
Florida
* Apopka: Virgil Hawkins Florida Chapter
Georgia
* Atlanta: Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys
* Atlanta: Gate City Bar Association
* Carrollton
Illinois
* Chicago: Cook County Bar Association
Indiana
* Indianapolis: Marion County Bar Association
Kentucky
* Lexington: John Rowe Chapter
* Louisville: Louisville Black Lawyers Association
Louisiana
* Baton Rouge: Louis A. Martinet – Baton Rouge
Massachusetts
* Boston: Mass. Black Lawyers Association
Maryland
* Baltimore: Alliance of Black Women Attorneys
* Baltimore: Monumental City Bar Association
* Greenbelt: J. Franklyn Bourne Bar Association
Michigan
* Detroit: Wolverine Bar Association
* Lansing: Davis-Dunning Affiliate Chapter
* Troy: D. Augustus Straker Bar Association
Minnesota
* Minneapolis: Minnesota Association of Black Lawyers
Missouri
* Kansas City: Jackson County Bar Association
* St. Louis: Mound City Bar Association ()
Mississippi
* Jackson: Magnolia Bar Association
New Jersey
* Trenton: Garden State Bar Association
New Mexico
* Albuquerque: New Mexico Black Lawyers Association
Nevada
* Las Vegas: Las Vegas Chapter
New York
* New York: Metropolitan Black Bar Association
* New York: Association of Black Women Attorneys
* Rochester: Rochester Black Bar Association
* Wheatley Heights: Amistad Long Island Black Bar
Ohio
* Cincinnati: Black Lawyers Association of Cincinnati
* Cleveland: Norman S. Minor Bar Association
* Columbus: John Mercer Langston Bar Association
Pennsylvania
* Philadelphia: Barristers Association of Philadelphia
Tennessee
* Memphis: Ben F. Jones Chapter
* Nashville: Napier-Looby Chapter
Texas
* Austin: Austin Black Lawyers Association
* Dallas: J.L. Turner Legal Association
* Dallas: AA Lawyers of TX State Bar
* Fort Worth: L. Clifford Davis Legal Association
* Houston: Houston Lawyers Association
Virginia
* Richmond: Old Dominion Bar Association
Washington
* Seattle: Loren Miller Bar Association
[lmba.net]
See also
*
Discrimination in bar exam
In the United States, those seeking to become lawyers must normally pass a bar examination before they can be admitted to the bar and become licensed to practice law. Bar exams are administered by states or territories, generally by agencies under ...
*
Union Internationale des Avocats
References
External links
Official page{{Authority control
American bar associations
African-American professional organizations
Organizations established in 1925
1925 establishments in the United States