Frankie Muse Freeman

Frankie Muse Freeman

Infobox revolution biography


imagesize = 150px
name = Frankie Muse Freeman
lived =
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1916|11|24|mf=y
placeofbirth = Danville, Virginia, USA
dateofdeath =
placeofdeath =
|caption =
alternate name =
spouse =
children =
movement = Civil Rights Movement
organizations = NAACP
U.S. Commission on Civil Rights
Howard University
National Urban League
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
monuments =
prizes =

The Honorable Frankie Muse Freeman (born Marie Frankie Muse, November 24, 1916 in Danville, Virginia) is an American civil rights attorney, and the first woman to be appointed to the United States Commission on Civil Rights (1964 to 1979), a federal fact-finding body that investigates complaints alleging discrimination. Freeman was instrumental in creating the Citizens’ Commission on Civil Rights founded in 1982, and has been a practicing attorney in state and federal courts for nearly sixty years.

In 2007, Freeman was inducted in the "International Civil Rights Walk of Fame" at the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site, Atlanta, Georgia, for her leadership role in the Civil Rights Movement. [ [http://www.gainformer.com/Files/13%20Footsteps%20Civil%20Rights%20Walk.htm International Civil Rights Walk of Fame] ]

Biography

Born to William Brown Muse and Maude Beatrice Smith Muse, came from college-educated families. Freeman grew up in Danville where she attended Westmoreland School and learned to play the piano. At age sixteen, Freeman enrolled in her mother's alma mater, Hampton Institute, which she attended between 1933 and 1936. In 1944, she was admitted to Howard University Law School and received a law degree in 1947.

In 1948, after writing to several law firms and not hearing back from them, Freeman decided to establish her own private practice. She began her practice with pro bono, divorce and criminal cases. After two years, Freeman began her work in civil rights when she became legal counsel to the NAACP legal team that filed suit against the St. Louis Board of Education in 1949. In 1954, Freeman was the lead attorney for the landmark NAACP case "Davis et al v. the St. Louis Housing Authority", which ended legal racial discrimination in public housing with the city. Freeman worked as staff attorney for the St. Louis Land Clearance and Housing Authorities from 1956 until 1970, first as associate general counsel and later as general counsel of the St. Louis Housing Authority.

In March of 1964, she was appointed by President Lyndon Johnson as a member of the United States Commission on Civil Rights. On September 15, 1964, the Senate approved Freeman’s nomination and she was officially the first black female on the civil rights commission. Freeman was subsequently reappointed again by Presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter, and held the position until July 1979. She became Inspector General for the Community Services Administration during Jimmy Carter's Administration in 1979. However, a little more than a year after she became inspector general, Ronald Reagan was elected president. The day after his inauguration in 1981 Freeman visited the office of the CSA administrator and was handed an envelope from the White House that she — along with all inspectors of the other agencies — had been dismissed effective the day before. She returned to St. Louis, where she has practiced law ever since. In 1982, Freeman joined 15 other former high federal officials who formed a bipartisan Citizens Commission on Civil Rights, a group committed to ending racial discrimination and devising remedies that would counteract its harmful effects. [ [http://www.cccr.org/about/commissioner.cfm?cid=22 Citizens’ Commission on Civil Rights] ]

Freeman is a Trustee Emeritus of the Board of Trustees of Howard University, [ [http://www.howard.edu/secretary/botdefault.htm Board of Trustees Howard University] ] past Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Council on Aging, Inc. and the National Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis. She is also a board member of the United Way of Greater St. Louis, the Metropolitan Zoological Park and Museum District and the St. Louis Center for International Relations. In 2003, she published her memoirs, "A Song of Faith and Hope". She is past national president of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and has received several honorary doctorate degrees from institutions that include Hampton University, University of Missouri–St. Louis, Saint Louis University, [ [http://stlouis.bizjournals.com/stlouis/stories/1998/04/06/tidbits.html SLU honors Freeman] ] Washington University in St. Louis and Howard University. [ [https://www.howard.edu/charterday/2004/honorees.htm Howard University: Honorary Degree Recipients] ] She was also inducted into the National Bar Association's Hall of Fame in 1990.

At age 90, she's still practicing law with Montgomery Hollie & Associates, L.L.C. in St. Louis, a three-attorney firm, volunteer activities, such as adult Sunday school classes she teaches at Washington Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church. Currently on the board of the World Affairs Councils of America, St. Louis, with the mission that promotes understanding, engagement, relationships, and leadership in world affairs.

References

External links

* [http://www.thehistorymakers.com/biography/biography.asp?bioindex=1408 The History Maker: Frankie Muse Freeman bio]
* [http://stlouis.bizjournals.com/stlouis/stories/2006/07/03/story12.html?page=1 St. Louis Character: Frankie Freeman]

Resource

Freeman, Frankie Muse. "A Song of Faith and Hope: The Life of Frankie Muse Freeman", Missouri Historical Society Press (April 2003) - ISBN 1883982413


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Timeline of the African-American Civil Rights Movement — This is a timeline of the African American Civil Rights Movement.1600 – 1799See also Racism in the United States.1676 *unknown Both free and enslaved African Americans fought in Bacon s Rebellion along with English colonists. 1739 *September 9 In …   Wikipedia

  • Timeline of African-American Civil Rights Movement — African American topics History  Atlantic slave trade · Maafa Slavery in the United States Military history of African Americans …   Wikipedia

  • African-American Civil Rights Movement (1955–1968) — American Civil Rights Movement redirects here. For the earlier period, see African American Civil Rights Movement (1896–1954). Prominent figures of the African American Civil Rights Movement. Clockwise from top left: W. E. B. Du Bois, Malcolm X,… …   Wikipedia

  • Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site — Infobox Protected area name = Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site iucn category = V caption = locator x=70 |locator y=84 location = Atlanta, Georgia, USA nearest city = lat degrees=33 |lat minutes=45 |lat seconds=19 |lat direction=N… …   Wikipedia

  • Candace O'Connor — (born January 27, 1950) is a St. Louis, Missouri based freelance writer and editor. The author of a soon to be released history of Washington University s George Warren Brown School of Social Work, O Connor s recent book projects include a… …   Wikipedia

  • Citizens' Commission on Civil Rights — The Citizens Commission on Civil Rights is a bipartisan organization established in 1982 to monitor the civil rights policies and practices of the federal government in the United States. Its work is grounded in the belief that the civil rights… …   Wikipedia

  • Martin Luther King, Jr., National Historic Site — This article is about the National Historic Site in Atlanta, GA. For the article about the Memorial in Washington, D.C., see Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial King, Martin Luther, Jr., National Historic Site and Preservation District U.S. National …   Wikipedia

  • performing arts — arts or skills that require public performance, as acting, singing, or dancing. [1945 50] * * * ▪ 2009 Introduction Music Classical.       The last vestiges of the Cold War seemed to thaw for a moment on Feb. 26, 2008, when the unfamiliar strains …   Universalium

  • Michael Brecker discography — Discography As leader 1982: Cityscape 1987: Michael Brecker 1988: Don t Try This at Home 1990: Now You See It...Now You Don t 1996: Tales from the Hudson 1998: Two Blocks from the Edge 1999: Time Is of the Essence 2001: Nearness of You: The… …   Wikipedia

  • Liste von Pseudonymen — Hier ist eine Liste bekannter Pseudonyme. Inhalt und Konventionen Die Liste soll alphabetisch nach den Pseudonymen sortiert sein. Die Einträge sollen formatiert sein, um Übersichtlichkeit zu gewährleisten. Namensverkürzungen (z. B. Rudi… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”