Hidden Figures: Edith Spurlock Sampson #BlackHERstoryMonth 3/28 (Patreon)

Hidden Figures: Edith Spurlock Sampson #BlackHERstoryMonth 3/28

If you enjoy my work, please consider supporting! CashApp: $SerenSensei Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/seren_sensei All Patrons get access to the Discord server! NEW MERCH SHOP: https://the-bheezebake-project.creator-spring.com Edith Spurlock Sampson (October 13, 1901 – October 8, 1979) was an American lawyer and judge; the first Black woman elected judge to a municipal court; and the first Black U.S. delegate appointed to the United Nations. She famously stated that she "…would rather be a Negro in America than a citizen in any other land.” Sampson was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 1 of 8 children, she left school at age 14 due to family financial difficulties and found work at a fish market. She later returned to school and graduated before going to work for Associated Charities, a social work organization based in New York City. Associated Charities helped cover the cost of sending Sampson to the New York School of Social Work, and after she received the highest grade in a criminology course, one of her instructors encouraged her to become an attorney. She married & moved to Chicago, where she studied law at night while working full-time during the day as a social worker. Sampson graduated from John Marshall Law School in 1925, winning a special dean's commendation for ranking at the top of her jurisprudence class. In 1927, Sampson became the first woman to earn a law degree masters from Loyola University's Graduate Law School. She also passed the Illinois bar exam that year, & went to work for Cook County for 18 years. In 1934, Sampson established her own practice on the South Side of Chicago, serving the local Black community. Also in 1934, Sampson became one of the first women to argue before the U.S. Supreme Court, & in 1943, she became one of the first Black members of the National Association of Women Lawyers. In 1947 she was appointed an Assistant State's Attorney in Cook County. In 1949, she was invited to participate in the World Town Hall of the Air lecture tour. A series of radio broadcasts, 26 prominent Americans were sent on a world tour, meeting leaders of foreign countries and participating in public political debates and radio broadcasts. In these meetings, Sampson was often asked about the so-called criminal behavior of Black Americans in the United States. During one meeting, she said: "I would rather be a Negro in America than a citizen in any other land." The quote was reprinted in the New York Times, making Sampson a celebrity. When the tour returned to America in 1950, the organization was made permanent & Sampson was elected as its president. Due to her popularity, in 1950 Sampson became the first Black American named to the permanent United States delegation to the United Nations (UN). In 1962, at age 61, Sampson was elected a judge on the Chicago Municipal Court; she was the first Black woman to be elected as a judge in the state of Illinois. In 1966, she became an associate judge for the Circuit Court of Cook County, & continued as a Circuit Court judge until she retired in 1978. She died at Chicago’s Northwestern Memorial Hospital in October 1979. #EdithSampson #HiddenFigures ****************** Merchandise! MAKE SURE U GETTA SHIRT!! https://www.teepublic.com/user/sssseren https://www.shophouseof950.com/embroidery-tees/theblackamericans https://www.shophouseof950.com/embroidery-tees/dacs?rq=d.a.c.s Follow me on social media! Instagram: @sensei_aishitemasu Personal Tumblr: http://sensei-aishitemasu.tumblr.com Tumblr for my work: https://sssseren.tumblr.com Snapchat: sssseren GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/tc5wh7q ****************** Did you know I wrote a book? ☺️ 'So, About That... A Year of Contemporary Essays on Race and Pop Culture' Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/About-That-Contemporary-Essays-Culture-ebook/dp/B013V0CHK6 Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B013V0CHK6 Digital download (e-book): https://gumroad.com/l/IkUa ****************** Links: https://www.instagram.com/p/CXCIjw9NaDJ/ Sampson, Edith S. 1901–1979: https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/history/historians-miscellaneous-biographies/edith-sampson 'Edith Sampson in Austria: The Promise and Limits of Person-to-Person Diplomacy in the Early Cold War:' https://botstiberbiaas.org/edith-sampson-in-austria/ Edith Sampson – Pic of the Week: https://blogs.loc.gov/law/2016/12/edith-sampson-pic-of-the-week/ Edith Sampson, Lawyer: https://aaregistry.org/story/edith-sampson-lawyer-judge-born/ EDITH SPURLOCK SAMPSON (1901-1979): https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/sampson-edith-spurlock-1901-1979/ 'Edith Sampson, 1st Black Woman Elected to Bench in Illinois, Is Dead:' https://www.nytimes.com/1979/10/11/archives/edith-sampson-1st-black-woman-elected-to-bench-in-illinois-is-dead.html Edith S. Sampson (Wikipedia): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edith_S._Sampson