In 2008, in preparation for a Philadelphia Diversity Law Group symposium about the state of African-Americans in the legal profession more than 50 years ago, I contacted Lois Schmidt, the widow of Judge Harvey Schmidt, to see if she had any memorabilia from that era. Among other things, she gave me a document that is an indelible part of our history. The document is titled, "Directory of the Colored Members of the Philadelphia Bar Compiled by Fleming Deveaux Tucker, Esq. revised to May 15, 1970."
The document is fascinating. It contains a list all of the Philadelphia-based African-Americans who were admitted to the bar from 1920 to 1970 50 years, but only 111 names.
