On August 1, 1945, Berry became the first African-American admitted to the practice of law in Louisiana since A. P. Tureaud in 1927. Berry hoped to join Tureaud's law practice, in New Orleans, but Tureaud could not financially take on another lawyer at that time. Instead, Berry practiced with John Perkins, who was licensed in Mississippi, not Louisiana. In 1947, with the opening of Southern University Law Center in Baton Rouge, several black lawyers were recruited to join the faculty.[2] Berry served as dean of Southern Law Center from 1972 to 1974.[1]
Legal practiceedit
Berry returned to his native Alexandria sometimes prior to 1950. Under the custom of the time, a new lawyer had to be introduced to the local bar association. When other white attorneys turned down Berry and privately ridiculed him, Camille Gravel, a high-powered criminal defense lawyer with political connections in both Baton Rouge and Washington, called Berry and offered to introduce him to their legal colleagues. This action was considered politically courageous in the segregated system of the American South.[3] Berry filled the role as the only black lawyer in Alexandria much as Jesse N. Stone, later the president of the Southern University System in Baton Rouge, had done in Shreveport.[4]
Berry worked with black ministers in Rapides Parish to register African-American citizens under the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Passage of the law, signed by U.S. PresidentLyndon B. Johnson, led to a large increase in black voter participation in Alexandria. The former civics test covering highlights of the Constitution of the United States was dropped as a condition for registration.[1]
The Alexandria Daily Town Talk attributed much of the improvement in living conditions in the black community to Berry's activism. The newspaper quoted Berry as having said: "Young people will be surprised to know the conditions under which blacks had to exist at the time, for they really had no rights that anybody was bound to respect."[5]
^ abcLeona W. Smith, St. Landry-Up From Slavery Then Came the Fire!!, p. 33. Bloomington, Indiana: Author House, 2011. 21 September 2011. ISBN978-1-4567-6032-8. Retrieved July 13, 2013.
^(PDF). lsba.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 12, 2012. Retrieved July 13, 2013.
^"Stevan C. Dittman, "Camille Gravel"" (PDF). The Advocate legal newsletter, Vo1. 19 No. 1 (Fall 2009). Retrieved July 13, 2013.[permanent dead link]
^"Jesse N. Stone, Noted Louisiana Lawyer And Educator, Dies At 76". Jet. Vol. 99, no. 25. Johnson Publishing Company. 2001-06-05. p. 53. Retrieved 2020-06-20.
^. cityofwinnfield.com. Archived from the original on December 7, 2013. Retrieved July 13, 2013.
January 01, 1970
louis, berry, october, 1914, 1998, first, african, american, permitted, practice, native, formerly, segregated, city, alexandria, rapides, parish, central, louisiana, born, 1914, october, 1914alexandria, rapides, parishlouisiana, usadiedmay, 1998, 1998, aged, . Louis Berry October 9 1914 May 3 1998 was the first African American permitted to practice law in his native formerly segregated city of Alexandria in Rapides Parish in Central Louisiana Louis BerryBorn 1914 10 08 October 8 1914Alexandria Rapides ParishLouisiana USADiedMay 3 1998 1998 05 03 aged 83 Lafayette LouisianaAlma materHoward University School of LawOccupation s Civil rights attorney Dean Southern University Law Center 1972 1974 Political partyDemocratBackground editA son of Frank Berry Sr a tailor and grocer in Alexandria Louis Berry graduated in 1941 from historically black Howard University School of Law in Washington D C 1 On August 1 1945 Berry became the first African American admitted to the practice of law in Louisiana since A P Tureaud in 1927 Berry hoped to join Tureaud s law practice in New Orleans but Tureaud could not financially take on another lawyer at that time Instead Berry practiced with John Perkins who was licensed in Mississippi not Louisiana In 1947 with the opening of Southern University Law Center in Baton Rouge several black lawyers were recruited to join the faculty 2 Berry served as dean of Southern Law Center from 1972 to 1974 1 Legal practice editBerry returned to his native Alexandria sometimes prior to 1950 Under the custom of the time a new lawyer had to be introduced to the local bar association When other white attorneys turned down Berry and privately ridiculed him Camille Gravel a high powered criminal defense lawyer with political connections in both Baton Rouge and Washington called Berry and offered to introduce him to their legal colleagues This action was considered politically courageous in the segregated system of the American South 3 Berry filled the role as the only black lawyer in Alexandria much as Jesse N Stone later the president of the Southern University System in Baton Rouge had done in Shreveport 4 Berry worked with black ministers in Rapides Parish to register African American citizens under the Voting Rights Act of 1965 Passage of the law signed by U S President Lyndon B Johnson led to a large increase in black voter participation in Alexandria The former civics test covering highlights of the Constitution of the United States was dropped as a condition for registration 1 The Alexandria Daily Town Talk attributed much of the improvement in living conditions in the black community to Berry s activism The newspaper quoted Berry as having said Young people will be surprised to know the conditions under which blacks had to exist at the time for they really had no rights that anybody was bound to respect 5 In 1996 some two years before his death in Lafayette Louisiana Berry was inducted into the Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame in Winnfield Camille Gravel had been inducted a year earlier in 1995 6 Portals nbsp United States nbsp Law nbsp Education nbsp PoliticsReferences edit a b c Leona W Smith St Landry Up From Slavery Then Came the Fire p 33 Bloomington Indiana Author House 2011 21 September 2011 ISBN 978 1 4567 6032 8 Retrieved July 13 2013 Rachel L Emanuel History Black Lawyersin Louisiana Prior to 1950 August September 2005 p 108 PDF lsba org Archived from the original PDF on September 12 2012 Retrieved July 13 2013 Stevan C Dittman Camille Gravel PDF The Advocate legal newsletter Vo1 19 No 1 Fall 2009 Retrieved July 13 2013 permanent dead link Jesse N Stone Noted Louisiana Lawyer And Educator Dies At 76 Jet Vol 99 no 25 Johnson Publishing Company 2001 06 05 p 53 Retrieved 2020 06 20 Alexandria Daily Town Talk April 29 2007 Hall of Fame Inductees cityofwinnfield com Archived from the original on December 7 2013 Retrieved July 13 2013 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Louis Berry amp oldid 1204140593, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
