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Ruth Whitehead Whaley (February 2, 1901 – December 23, 1977) was the third
African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
woman admitted to practice law in
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
in 1925 and the first in
North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...
in 1933. She was the first Black woman to graduate from
Fordham University School of Law Fordham University School of Law is the law school of Fordham University. The school is located in Manhattan in New York City, and is one of eight ABA-approved law schools in that city. In 2013, 91% of the law school's first-time test take ...
, where she graduated cum laude in 1924.


Early life

Whaley was born on February 2, 1901, in Goldsboro, North Carolina. Both of her parents, Charles A. Whitehead and Dora (née Cox) Whitehead, were school teachers. She was a congregant of the
AME Zion Church #REDIRECT AME #REDIRECT AME {{redirect category shell, {{R from other capitalisation{{R from ambiguous page ...
{{redirect category shell, {{R from other capitalisation{{R from ambiguous page ...
. Ruth C. Whitehead married Herman S. Whaley in 1920 in Goldsboro. Her husband encouraged her to study law despite the difficulties of racism. The couple had two children, Herman W. Whaley and Ruth M. (Whaley) Spearman.


Education

Whaley attended Livingstone Prep School and
Livingstone College Livingstone College is a private, historically black Christian college in Salisbury, North Carolina. It is affiliated with the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church. Livingstone College is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Sout ...
in
Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of Wil ...
, North Carolina, a historically Black college (
HBCU Historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of primarily serving the African-American community. Mo ...
) founded in 1879. She graduated in June 1919 after earning an A.B. degree. After college, she worked as a teacher at the North Carolina State School for the Deaf in
Raleigh Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southeas ...
.


Career

In 1949, Whaley penned an essay entitled "Women Lawyers Must Balk Both Color and Sex Bias," in which she described the "penalty" of women, and especially minority women, lawyers who must outperform their male colleagues lest "the overlooked errors of a male colleague become the colossal blunders of the woman." Since the legal profession had been for centuries a "male precinct," it was easy to single out the mistakes of a woman lawye

She maintained a private law practice in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
until 1944. Whaley held appointed positions in New York City including Director of Staff and Community Relations in the Department of Welfare and Deputy Commissioner of the Department of Housing and Buildings. From 1951 until 1973 she served as the Secretary of the New York City Board of Estimate. Throughout her life, Whaley was active in
Democratic party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...
politics. She was the first Black woman candidate chosen to represent the interests of Tammany Hall in the City Council election of 1945. Whaley was a member of
Sigma Gamma Rho Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. () is a historically African American sorority, international collegiate, and non-profit community service organization that was founded on November 12, 1922, by seven educators on the Irvington campus (1875–1 ...
sorority. She served as the Vice President of the National Council of Negro Women and was the founder and former President of the Negro Business and Professional Women's Club. A longtime resident of
Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street (Manhattan), 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and 110th Street (Manhattan), ...
, she retired from the Secretary of the New York City Board of Estimate in 1973. She died on December 23, 1977, and is buried in Mount Hope Cemetery in Yonkers.


Legacy

On June 8, 2000, the Family Academy, then an alternative public school in
Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
that is now P.S. 241, named their auditorium after Whaley. The Black Law Students Association at Fordham University Law School named their annual award the Ruth Whitehead Whaley Award in 1979. She was inducted into the alumni Hall of Honor at Fordham University on October 22, 2014.


See also

*
List of first women lawyers and judges in North Carolina This is a list of the first women lawyer(s) and judge(s) in North Carolina. It includes the year in which the women were admitted to practice law (in parentheses). Also included are women who achieved other distinctions such as becoming the first ...


References

* J. Clay Smith, ed.,
Rebels in Law: Voices in History of Black Women Lawyers
2000. * J. Clay Smith,
Emancipation: The Making of the Black Lawyer, 1844-1944
1999. {{DEFAULTSORT:Whaley, Ruth Whitehead New York (state) lawyers Fordham University School of Law alumni 1901 births 1977 deaths People from Goldsboro, North Carolina Livingstone College alumni African-American women lawyers African-American lawyers 20th-century American women lawyers 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century African-American women 20th-century African-American people