Black Jurists

On March 1, 1875, the Civil Rights Act is passed by Congress. This law gives blacks and other citizens equal rights and access to public places such as inns, theaters, transportation, and shops. It also states that no qualified person will be denied the right to perform jury duty — a condition that is tested in the 1879 case, Strauder v. West Virginia. In that instance, the U.S. Supreme Court rules against prohibitions excluding blacks from juries. Just four years later, however, the Supreme Court declares that the Civil Rights Act is unconstitutional, on the grounds that individual businesses have the right to choose their clientele and that giving blacks equal access violates this right.

Cleveland Gazette 21 no.25. 1/23/1904 Library of Congress