Abstract

Excerpted From: Henry Hamilton III, Honoring Iowa's Pioneering African American Lawyers and Navigating Today's Civil Rights Challenges, 44 Quinnipiac Law Review 93 (2026) (790 Footnotes) (Full Document Requested)

On December 28, 1846, Iowa, the “ free child of the Missouri Compromise,” becomes the twenty-ninth state in the Union. Although African Americans have never comprised more than a small percentage of Iowa’s total population, the state has a surprisingly significant, albeit complex, history of both advancing and restricting the civil rights of African Americans .

Iowa’s pioneering African American lawyers are instrumental in this early era in both securing civil rights within the state, and in advancing the development of the nation’s African American legal community. This Article explores their remarkable journeys, the battles they waged, and the enduring impact of their work.

In Part I, I review Iowa’s early civil rights journey from 1838 through 1874.

In Part II, I recall and honor the pioneering African American lawyers admitted to practice in Iowa between 1874 and 1925, offering biographical sketches of the men and women who paved the way for future generations of lawyers.

In Part III, I revisit the founding of the Iowa National Bar Association (“ INBA” ) in 1901 and the subsequent founding of the National Bar Association (“ NBA” ) in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1925. With few exceptions, the American Bar Association (“ ABA” ) did not allow African American lawyers to become members, which pushed African American attorneys to form their own organizations.

In Part IV, I look at the struggles faced by Iowa’s pioneering African American lawyers, who, like others across the country in the early 1900s, had to confront pervasive denial of equal rights and protections.

Finally, in Part V, I examine today’s predominant civil rights challenges, particularly, efforts to erase African American culture, and explore the lessons we can draw from the struggles and achievements of early African American lawyers. My goal here is to demonstrate how anti-DEI initiatives mirror the exclusionary practices of the past, by seeking to preserve entrenched hierarchies at the expense of marginalized communities.

[ . . . ]

In this Article, I have reviewed Iowa’s early civil rights history. I have recognized Iowa’s pioneering African American lawyers, explored their journeys, and examined how they responded to the challenges of their time, including systemic racism and professional isolation. In Part V, I detailed the modern-day attacks, at least in Iowa, upon African American history, culture, and experiences.

In closing, I compare today’s relentless assault on DEI initiatives and African America history, culture, and experiences with the exclusionary practices of the past, noting that while the tactics may have shifted, the underlying motivations remain the same: preserving power, privilege, and access to the avenue of opportunities of success for a dominant group while simultaneously limiting opportunities for marginalized groups.

To be clear, America has always been diverse. In the first census, taken in 1790, just a few years after the country ratifies the Constitution, African Americans --free and enslaved --comprise almost twenty percent of the nation’s population. We can postulate that women comprise about fifty percent of the population. While it is hard to determine exact numbers, we know there is same sex activity in the colonies, among Native Americans , and among enslaved individuals. I could go on, but the point remains: we have always been diverse; what we have struggled with is equity and inclusion.

Retired judge and a past president of the Iowa National Bar Association.