1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:01,920 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of I 2 00:00:02,040 --> 00:00:15,160 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hello and Welcome to This Day in History Class, 3 00:00:15,520 --> 00:00:19,360 Speaker 1: a show that discovers something new about history every day. 4 00:00:20,360 --> 00:00:24,239 Speaker 1: I'm Gay Bluesier, and in this episode, we're examining the 5 00:00:24,360 --> 00:00:29,080 Speaker 1: brief but historic career of Charlotte E. Ray, a legal 6 00:00:29,160 --> 00:00:38,879 Speaker 1: pioneer in a time of fierce prejudice. The day was 7 00:00:39,000 --> 00:00:45,760 Speaker 1: February eighteen seventy two. Charlotte E. Ray became the first 8 00:00:45,840 --> 00:00:49,280 Speaker 1: black woman in the United States to receive a law degree. 9 00:00:50,200 --> 00:00:52,680 Speaker 1: She was one of just a few women of any 10 00:00:52,800 --> 00:00:56,160 Speaker 1: race to practice law in the country, as women were 11 00:00:56,200 --> 00:01:00,480 Speaker 1: generally excluded from the legal profession during the nineteen cent tree. 12 00:01:00,920 --> 00:01:04,120 Speaker 1: After all, it's tough to get a degree when most 13 00:01:04,160 --> 00:01:07,759 Speaker 1: of the colleges with law schools have rules against your enrollment, 14 00:01:08,160 --> 00:01:11,720 Speaker 1: and Charlotte Ray, as a woman of color, was excluded 15 00:01:11,840 --> 00:01:15,679 Speaker 1: two times over. She was born in New York City 16 00:01:15,760 --> 00:01:22,200 Speaker 1: on January eighteen fifty. Her parents, Charlotte Augusta Burrows and 17 00:01:22,280 --> 00:01:27,080 Speaker 1: Reverend Charles Bennett Ray, believed strongly in the value of education. 18 00:01:28,040 --> 00:01:32,160 Speaker 1: The Rays had seven children, four boys and three girls. 19 00:01:32,920 --> 00:01:37,160 Speaker 1: Despite the obstacles society placed in their daughter's path, the 20 00:01:37,319 --> 00:01:40,800 Speaker 1: Rays made sure that all three of them, Charlotte and 21 00:01:40,920 --> 00:01:45,000 Speaker 1: her two sisters, Cordelia and Florence, got the same chance 22 00:01:45,040 --> 00:01:48,880 Speaker 1: to attend college as their sons did, and so in 23 00:01:48,960 --> 00:01:52,600 Speaker 1: eighteen sixty five, shortly after the end of the Civil War, 24 00:01:53,160 --> 00:01:57,160 Speaker 1: Charlotte began attending the Institution for the Education of Colored 25 00:01:57,200 --> 00:02:01,000 Speaker 1: Youth in Washington, d c. At the time, it was 26 00:02:01,080 --> 00:02:03,920 Speaker 1: one of a handful of schools that offered a quality 27 00:02:04,040 --> 00:02:08,079 Speaker 1: education to young African American women. Much of the program 28 00:02:08,200 --> 00:02:11,680 Speaker 1: centered on teaching domestic skills, but there was also a 29 00:02:11,720 --> 00:02:16,600 Speaker 1: focus on training students to become teachers. Charlotte liked the idea, 30 00:02:16,919 --> 00:02:20,560 Speaker 1: so when she graduated from the institution in eighteen sixty nine, 31 00:02:20,919 --> 00:02:24,560 Speaker 1: she took a job at Howard University as a teacher trainee. 32 00:02:25,480 --> 00:02:29,000 Speaker 1: The university had opened just a few years earlier with 33 00:02:29,040 --> 00:02:33,200 Speaker 1: the mission of educating formerly enslaved people and their descendants. 34 00:02:33,960 --> 00:02:37,119 Speaker 1: Charlotte believed in that mission and knew that training more 35 00:02:37,240 --> 00:02:41,320 Speaker 1: Black school teachers was a vital way to help achieve it. However, 36 00:02:41,760 --> 00:02:45,960 Speaker 1: she also wanted to continue her own education, and in particular, 37 00:02:46,280 --> 00:02:51,400 Speaker 1: she wanted to study law. Howard University was reportedly hesitant 38 00:02:51,440 --> 00:02:54,960 Speaker 1: to admit women to its law program, possibly because the 39 00:02:55,000 --> 00:02:58,840 Speaker 1: career opportunities for women in that field were quite limited, 40 00:02:59,040 --> 00:03:02,120 Speaker 1: with many states not even allowing women to take the 41 00:03:02,160 --> 00:03:07,680 Speaker 1: bar exam. However, the school's official policies did not discriminate 42 00:03:07,720 --> 00:03:11,480 Speaker 1: against black men or women, and so during her first 43 00:03:11,600 --> 00:03:15,080 Speaker 1: year of teaching, Charlotte Ray was accepted into a three 44 00:03:15,120 --> 00:03:19,280 Speaker 1: year program at the Howard University School of Law. She 45 00:03:19,400 --> 00:03:23,440 Speaker 1: specialized in corporate and commercial law, and she graduated on 46 00:03:23,520 --> 00:03:29,679 Speaker 1: February seventy two. Some accounts have claimed that Charlotte Ray 47 00:03:29,760 --> 00:03:34,040 Speaker 1: secured her admission to the DC Bar Association by disguising 48 00:03:34,080 --> 00:03:38,840 Speaker 1: her gender. She allegedly submitted her application using just her 49 00:03:38,880 --> 00:03:42,600 Speaker 1: initials C. E. Ray as a way to keep it 50 00:03:42,600 --> 00:03:47,720 Speaker 1: from being instantly rejected. However, some historians dispute this detail, 51 00:03:48,120 --> 00:03:51,080 Speaker 1: arguing that the bar in the District of Columbia had 52 00:03:51,160 --> 00:03:54,760 Speaker 1: recently decided to admit women at the time of her application. 53 00:03:55,480 --> 00:03:58,480 Speaker 1: Of course, it's possible that Charlotte didn't know about that 54 00:03:58,600 --> 00:04:02,280 Speaker 1: rule change and therefore or thought a ruse was necessary, 55 00:04:02,320 --> 00:04:05,760 Speaker 1: But whatever the case, Charlotte E. Ray was admitted to 56 00:04:05,760 --> 00:04:10,080 Speaker 1: the District of Columbia Bar on March second, eighteen seventy two, 57 00:04:10,440 --> 00:04:13,520 Speaker 1: and then admitted to practice on April twenty three of 58 00:04:13,600 --> 00:04:18,240 Speaker 1: that same year. She advertised her independent law practice in 59 00:04:18,320 --> 00:04:23,480 Speaker 1: newspapers published by and for African Americans, including New National, 60 00:04:23,600 --> 00:04:27,440 Speaker 1: Era and Citizen, both of which were owned by Frederick Douglas. 61 00:04:28,360 --> 00:04:31,320 Speaker 1: Not much is known about the specifics of her commercial 62 00:04:31,400 --> 00:04:34,839 Speaker 1: law practice, but we do know about at least one 63 00:04:34,920 --> 00:04:38,919 Speaker 1: case of family law that she handled. Her client was 64 00:04:39,080 --> 00:04:43,080 Speaker 1: Martha Gadley, an uneducated black woman who was trapped in 65 00:04:43,120 --> 00:04:47,680 Speaker 1: an abusive marriage and wanted out. Gadley had already petitioned 66 00:04:47,680 --> 00:04:52,360 Speaker 1: for divorce in early eighteen seventy five, citing numerous instances 67 00:04:52,440 --> 00:04:57,360 Speaker 1: of drunken violence as grounds for dissolving the marriage, but sadly, 68 00:04:57,600 --> 00:05:01,000 Speaker 1: the court didn't see her cruel treat is anything to 69 00:05:01,080 --> 00:05:05,200 Speaker 1: end a marriage over. Gadley's petition was turned down and 70 00:05:05,240 --> 00:05:11,040 Speaker 1: her case was dismissed. However, Martha Gadley didn't give up. Instead, 71 00:05:11,240 --> 00:05:13,719 Speaker 1: she made the bold move to take her petition to 72 00:05:13,839 --> 00:05:18,239 Speaker 1: a higher court, the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia, 73 00:05:18,320 --> 00:05:22,600 Speaker 1: and this time she wouldn't argue her case alone. Instead, 74 00:05:23,000 --> 00:05:26,279 Speaker 1: she got Charlotte Ray to plead the case of Gadley 75 00:05:26,520 --> 00:05:31,599 Speaker 1: versus Gadley on June three, eight seventy five. Ray was 76 00:05:31,640 --> 00:05:34,560 Speaker 1: the first woman to practice and argue in the District 77 00:05:34,560 --> 00:05:39,640 Speaker 1: of Columbia Supreme Court. Her arguments vividly described the violence 78 00:05:39,680 --> 00:05:43,240 Speaker 1: of the marriage, including one incident in which Martha's husband 79 00:05:43,360 --> 00:05:46,280 Speaker 1: used an axe to chop a hole in their bedroom 80 00:05:46,400 --> 00:05:49,520 Speaker 1: floor and then threatened to push her into the room 81 00:05:49,600 --> 00:05:54,000 Speaker 1: below and break her neck. Ray argued that maintaining a 82 00:05:54,080 --> 00:05:57,719 Speaker 1: marriage like that would endanger Martha's life, and that she 83 00:05:57,839 --> 00:06:02,080 Speaker 1: was therefore entitled to a divorce. This time, the court 84 00:06:02,200 --> 00:06:05,520 Speaker 1: agreed and delivered a rare ruling in favor of a 85 00:06:05,600 --> 00:06:11,080 Speaker 1: survivor of domestic violence. Charlotte Ray's victory on Martha's behalf 86 00:06:11,480 --> 00:06:13,640 Speaker 1: was a high point in what turned out to be 87 00:06:13,720 --> 00:06:18,679 Speaker 1: an all too brief career in law. Despite her talents, credentials, 88 00:06:18,720 --> 00:06:22,640 Speaker 1: and expertise, Ray was unable to find enough clients to 89 00:06:22,760 --> 00:06:26,560 Speaker 1: keep her practice afloat. In the end, too few people 90 00:06:26,800 --> 00:06:30,560 Speaker 1: were willing to trust legal matters to a black woman attorney. 91 00:06:30,760 --> 00:06:33,919 Speaker 1: As a result, Ray closed her practice soon after the 92 00:06:33,920 --> 00:06:37,560 Speaker 1: Gadly decision and later returned to New York City, where 93 00:06:37,560 --> 00:06:40,760 Speaker 1: she worked as a public school teacher In Brooklyn. She 94 00:06:40,880 --> 00:06:45,039 Speaker 1: also remained active in social movements, including women's suffrage and 95 00:06:45,120 --> 00:06:49,039 Speaker 1: equality for black women. In eighteen ninety seven, she moved 96 00:06:49,040 --> 00:06:53,240 Speaker 1: to the suburbs of Woodside on Long Island. Fourteen years later, 97 00:06:53,480 --> 00:06:56,320 Speaker 1: she passed away there after succumbing to a case of 98 00:06:56,360 --> 00:07:01,720 Speaker 1: acute bronchitis. She was sixty years old. The sad reality 99 00:07:01,920 --> 00:07:04,520 Speaker 1: is that many people who break the glass ceilings of 100 00:07:04,560 --> 00:07:08,680 Speaker 1: societal prejudice often don't get to go very far beyond 101 00:07:08,720 --> 00:07:12,280 Speaker 1: the barriers they've broken. The silver lining is that the 102 00:07:12,320 --> 00:07:15,440 Speaker 1: people behind them generally have a better chance of moving 103 00:07:15,480 --> 00:07:18,560 Speaker 1: forward even further. And that's the way it went with 104 00:07:18,680 --> 00:07:23,640 Speaker 1: Charlotte Ray. Although she only practiced law for roughly three years, 105 00:07:23,640 --> 00:07:26,520 Speaker 1: she cleared the path for other African American women in 106 00:07:26,560 --> 00:07:30,240 Speaker 1: the field of law. For example, Ray's admission to the 107 00:07:30,280 --> 00:07:33,000 Speaker 1: bar in d c was used by black women in 108 00:07:33,080 --> 00:07:36,600 Speaker 1: other states to establish precedent for their own admission to 109 00:07:36,640 --> 00:07:41,480 Speaker 1: their bars. That said, the legal profession remains largely on 110 00:07:41,640 --> 00:07:45,760 Speaker 1: inviting to women, and especially to African Americans even today. 111 00:07:46,360 --> 00:07:50,560 Speaker 1: According to the American Bar Association, as of twenty twenty one, 112 00:07:50,880 --> 00:07:53,560 Speaker 1: just over a third of the practicing lawyers in the 113 00:07:53,640 --> 00:07:57,920 Speaker 1: United States are female. Even more incriminating is the fact 114 00:07:57,920 --> 00:08:01,280 Speaker 1: that just five percent of all you US lawyers are black, 115 00:08:01,800 --> 00:08:05,960 Speaker 1: the exact same percentage as ten years ago. The story 116 00:08:06,000 --> 00:08:09,360 Speaker 1: of Charlotte E. Ray reminds us that the fight against 117 00:08:09,360 --> 00:08:13,520 Speaker 1: intersectional discrimination has been going on for a very long time, 118 00:08:13,960 --> 00:08:17,560 Speaker 1: and the state of legal representation today shows that that 119 00:08:17,640 --> 00:08:23,600 Speaker 1: fight is still far from over. I'm Gay, Bluesier, and 120 00:08:23,680 --> 00:08:27,400 Speaker 1: hopefully you now know a little more about history today 121 00:08:27,520 --> 00:08:31,000 Speaker 1: than you did yesterday. You can learn even more about 122 00:08:31,040 --> 00:08:35,040 Speaker 1: history by following us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at 123 00:08:35,080 --> 00:08:38,760 Speaker 1: t d I HC Show, and if you have any 124 00:08:38,800 --> 00:08:42,040 Speaker 1: comments or suggestions, you can always send them my way 125 00:08:42,240 --> 00:08:46,240 Speaker 1: at this Day at i heart media dot com. Thanks 126 00:08:46,240 --> 00:08:49,120 Speaker 1: to Chandler Mays for producing the show, and thank you 127 00:08:49,200 --> 00:08:52,440 Speaker 1: for listening. I'll see you back here again tomorrow for 128 00:08:52,559 --> 00:09:02,520 Speaker 1: another day in History class MMM. For more podcasts from 129 00:09:02,559 --> 00:09:05,319 Speaker 1: my Heart Radio, visit the i Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, 130 00:09:05,400 --> 00:09:07,120 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.