William H. Hastie

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For other uses, see William Hastie (disambiguation) .

William Henry Hastie Jr. (November 17, 1904 – April 14, 1976) was an American lawyer, judge, educator, public official, and civil rights advocate. He was the first African American to serve as Governor of the United States Virgin Islands , as a federal judge , [_dead link
_] and as a federal appellate judge . He served as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and previously served as District Judge of the District Court of the Virgin Islands .

Contents

• 1 Early life and education

• 2 Career

  • 2.1 Legal work

  • 2.2 World War II

  • 2.3 Federal judicial service

  • 2.4 Supreme Court consideration

• 3 Legacy

• 4 Amherst Olio gallery

• 5 See also

• 6 References

• 7 Sources

• 8 External links

Early life and education

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Hastie in the Amherst College yearbook, 1925

Hastie was born in Knoxville, Tennessee , the son of William Henry Hastie, Sr. and Roberta Childs. His ancestors were African American. Family tradition held that one female ancestor was a Malagasy princess. He graduated from Dunbar High School , a top academic school for black students.

Hastie attended Amherst College , Massachusetts in 1925, where he graduated first in his class, _magna cum laude _, and Phi Beta Kappa , receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree. While in college, Hastie was initiated into Omega Psi Phi fraternity. He received a Bachelor of Laws from Harvard Law School in 1930, followed by a Doctor of Juridical Science from the same institution in 1933.

Career

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Legal work

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Poster of Hastie from the United States Office of War Information , Domestic Operations Branch, News Bureau, in 1943

Hastie entered the private practice of law in Washington, D.C. from 1930 to 1933. From 1933 to 1937 he served as assistant solicitor for the United States Department of the Interior , advising the agency on racial issues. He had worked with his second cousin, Charles Hamilton Houston , to establish a joint law practice. Hastie served as a member of the informal "Black Cabinet " of President Franklin D. Roosevelt from 1933 to 1937.

In 1937, Roosevelt appointed Hastie to the District Court of the Virgin Islands , making Hastie the first African-American federal judge. This was a controversial action; Democratic United States Senator William H. King of Utah , the Chairman of the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary called Hastie's appointment a "blunder." King opposed any nominee who supported Black equality.

In 1939, Hastie resigned from the court to become the Dean of the Howard University School of Law , where he had previously taught. One of his students was Thurgood Marshall , who led the Legal Defense Fund for the NAACP and was appointed as a United States Supreme Court Justice.[_citation needed
_]

Hastie served as a co-lead lawyer with Thurgood Marshall in the voting rights case of _Smith v. Allwright , 321 U.S. 649 (1944) in which the Supreme Court ruled against white primaries. One of Houston's sons became a name partner at the law firm.[citation needed
_]

World War II

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