J. L. Chestnut Jr. (December 16, 1930 – September 30, 2008) was an author, attorney, and a figure in the

Civil Rights Movement The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional racial segregation, discrimination, and disenfranchisement throughout the Unite ...

. He was the first African-American attorney in Selma, Alabama, and the author of the 1991 autobiographical book, '' Black in Selma: The Uncommon Life of J.L. Chestnut, Jr.'', which chronicles the history of the Selma Voting Rights Movement, including the 1965

Selma to Montgomery marches The Selma to Montgomery marches were three protest marches, held in 1965, along the 54-mile (87 km) highway from Selma, Alabama, to the state capital of Montgomery. The marches were organized by nonviolent activists to demonstrate the ...

and

Bloody Sunday Bloody Sunday may refer to: Historical events Canada * Bloody Sunday (1923), a day of police violence during a steelworkers' strike for union recognition in Sydney, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia * Bloody Sunday (1938), police violence aga ...

. Chestnut was born in Selma, and attended

Howard University Law School Howard University School of Law (Howard Law or HUSL) is the law school of Howard University, a private, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is one of the oldest law schools in the country and the old ...

. He returned home as Selma's only black attorney, and represented civil rights demonstrators at trial there when the Selma Movement began in the 1960s. In 1986, Chestnut was one of the founders of the New South Coalition, along with Birmingham, Alabama Mayor

Richard Arrington Richard Arrington Jr. (born October 19, 1934 in Livingston, Alabama) was the first Black mayor of the city of Birmingham, Alabama (U.S.), serving 20 years, from 1979 to 1999. He replaced David Vann and, upon retiring after five terms in offi ...

, when the Alabama Democratic Party refused to endorse Jesse Jackson for the Democratic presidential nomination.Reeves, Jay
LaRouche Contact Shocks Judge England
''The Tuscaloosa News'', September 30, 1994 In 1994, Chestnut was active in protesting the jailing of political activist

Lyndon LaRouche Lyndon Hermyle LaRouche Jr. (September 8, 1922 – February 12, 2019) was an American political activist who founded the LaRouche movement and its main organization the National Caucus of Labor Committees (NCLC). He was a prominent conspira ...

. He was interviewed in the ''Tuscaloosa News'' saying that when he met LaRouche, "I told him that he might as well be black and in Alabama." He died in 2008, aged 77, of

kidney failure Kidney failure, also known as end-stage kidney disease, is a medical condition in which the kidneys can no longer adequately filter waste products from the blood, functioning at less than 15% of normal levels. Kidney failure is classified as eit ...

, after an illness lasting several months in a hospital in Alabama.

Career

J. L. Chestnut Jr. was the first African American lawyer in Selma, Alabama. He was well known for being an attorney for Martin Luther King Jr. and other respected civil rights leaders in the 1960s among civil rights protest, speeches, and marches. He was a major contributor that helped lead change for African Americans. He made advancements for African Americans voting rights and integration into law professions. On March 7, 1965, nonviolent activists gathered protesters at Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma to march together to Montgomery. This march was to bring awareness and recognition to the discrimination, segregation and neglection of African American and other minority citizen, exercising their right to vote and be heard. Alabama state troopers attacked these civil-rights protesters, physically beating them, and using tear gas. This day is known as

and is a major landmark for the civil rights movement. The event was nationally televised and spread awareness around the United States, igniting change. The widespread support from the nation provoked congress to act, and a few months later in August, the

1965 Voting Rights Act The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a landmark piece of federal legislation in the United States that prohibits racial discrimination in voting. It was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson during the height of the civil rights movemen ...

was passed.

Early life

J. L. Chestnut Jr., born in Selma, Alabama, was the son of J. L. Chestnut Sr., who owned a grocery store. His mother was an elementary school teacher. His father was forced to shut down his grocery store due to an accumulation of unpaid taxes. When he was young, he had a mentor named John F. Sheilds, who was an elementary school teacher. Shields advised him to "go get a law degree and fight the system." He said this because Chestnut Jr. expressed frustration with outdated textbooks and the differences in different institutions due to segregation and discrimination. In 1953, Chestnut obtained his undergraduate degree at

Dillard University Dillard University is a private, historically black university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded in 1930 and incorporating earlier institutions founded as early as 1869 after the American Civil War, it is affiliated with the United Church of C ...

in New Orleans. Here he earned a bachelor's degree in Business Administration. Shortly after, he attended law school at

Howard University Howard University (Howard) is a Private university, private, University charter#Federal, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, classifie ...

, located in Washington D.C. His practices were heavily influenced by the work of

Thurgood Marshall Thurgood Marshall (July 2, 1908 – January 24, 1993) was an American civil rights lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1967 until 1991. He was the Supreme Court's first African-A ...

and other accomplished civil rights leaders. He was married to Vivian Chestnut of Selma. They were married for 56 years and had six children before Chestnut Jr. died.

Death

J. L. Chestnut Jr. died on September 30, 2008 at St. Vincent's Hospital located in

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...

. He died as the result of an infection that subsequently developed after a surgery he had, causing his kidneys to fail. He died at the age of 77 years old. His memory remains influential the Selma black community and many other black communities as well.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chestnut, J. L. 1930 births 2008 deaths American civil rights lawyers Howard University School of Law alumni African-American activists Activists from Selma, Alabama Deaths from kidney failure Selma to Montgomery marches 21st-century African-American people