Fredrick L. McGhee: A Life on the Color Line, 1861-1912 - Hardcover

Nelson, Paul D.; Lewis, David Levering

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0873514254 ISBN 13: 9780873514255

Publisher: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2002

Synopsis

Presents the life and accomplishments of the noted African American lawyer.

About this title

About the Author:

Paul D. Nelson is an attorney-at-law and former managing editor of the Minnesota Law Review. For the last ten years, he has served as the executive director of Centro de Estudios Multiculturales in St. Paul.

From Booklist:

*Starred Review* McGhee, born a slave but later able to achieve a substantial career as an attorney and civil rights activist, was a contemporary of Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. DuBois, but he is nonetheless a fairly obscure historical figure. Nelson explores the life of this extraordinary man and the reasons for his obscurity--partly attributable to geography--despite his achievements. Although he began his legal career in Chicago, McGhee settled in St. Paul, Minnesota, where he became the first black lawyer admitted to the bar. With a much smaller black population from which to attract clients, McGhee primarily represented whites, gaining a reputation for competence and oratory. McGhee's conversion from the Baptist faith to the Catholic faith put him in position to work with Archbishop John Ireland to use the church as a positive vehicle for racial equality. Politically, McGhee converted from Republican to Democrat at a time when the latter party was dominated by segregationists. Although initially allied with Washington, McGhee later sided with DuBois when the two giants in the struggle for racial equality clashed on tactics and philosophy. A very fascinating read. Vernon Ford
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About this edition

• Publisher: Minnesota Historical Society Press
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0873514254
• ISBN 13: 9780873514255
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 262