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Article: James Benton Parsons: August 9, 1961. (on this date he became the first African American appointed as a federal District Court judge)(This Week in Black History)
- Article from:
- Jet
- Article date:
- August 14, 1995
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1995 Johnson Publishing Co. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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James Benton Parsons, musician, educator, lawyer and judge, on this day became the first Black appointed a federal District Court judge by President John F. Kennedy. He was also the first Black to receive a lifetime appointment in that post. Judge Parsons was born in Kansas City, MO. He attended Millikin Univ. in Decatur, IL, working his way through school as a composing room laborer for the Herald Review daily in Decature. He received his A.B. degree in 1934 and headed the music department of Lincoln Univ. in Jefferson City, M0. He also served ...