Raymond Pace Alexander (1897-1974) was a prominent black
attorney in Philadelphia and a distinguished member of the National
Bar Association, the oldest and largest association of African
American lawyers and judges. A contemporary of such nationally
known black attorneys as Charles Hamilton Houston, William Hastie,
and Thurgood Marshall, Alexander litigated civil rights cases and
became well known in Philadelphia. Yet his legacy to the civil
rights struggle has received little national recognition.
As a New Negro lawyer during the 1930s, Alexander worked with
left-wing organizations to desegregate an all-white elementary
school in Berwin, Pennsylvania. After World War II, he became an
anti-communist liberal and formed coalitions with like-minded
whites. In the sixties, Alexander criticized Black Power rhetoric,
but shared some philosophies with Black Power such as black
political empowerment and studying black history. By the late
sixties, he focused on economic justice by advocating a Marshall
Plan for poor Americans and supporting affirmative action.
Alexander was a major contributor to the northern civil rights
struggle and was committed to improving the status of black
lawyers. He was representative of a generation who created
opportunities for African Americans but was later often ignored or
castigated by younger leaders who did not support the tactics of
the old guard's pioneers.
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