J. R. Clifford
Encyclopedia
J.R. Clifford was West Virginia’s
first African-American attorney. Clifford was also a newspaper publisher, editor and writer, schoolteacher, and principal. He was a Civil War veteran, grandfather, as well as a civil rights
pioneer and founding member of the Niagara Movement
(forerunner to the NAACP). Despite boundaries derived from racial discrimination, J. R. Clifford's accomplishments were great, reflecting his ability and determination.
, in what was then Hardy County, Virginia
(now in Grant County
), near present-day Moorefield
. Clifford's parents and grandparents were "free blacks" and had lived in that region of Virginia for several generations. There were no schools for colored children in the area. Clifford's parents sent him to Chicago to attend school, sometime in the early 1860s. In 1864, at the age of fifteen, Clifford enlisted in the United States Colored Troops
, and served until 1865. After the Civil War, Clifford learned the barber trade, and then operated a writing school in Ohio and West Virginia. In the early 1870s he enrolled in Harpers Ferry's newly formed Storer College
, created to educate the region's African-American population. After earning his degree in 1877, Clifford became a teacher at, and then the principal of, a segregated public school for African Americans in Martinsburg, West Virginia.
In 1882, Clifford began to publish "The Pioneer Press", a newspaper that was distributed nationally to a largely African American audience. He published the newspaper until 1917; it was the longest running weekly newspaper dedicated to African American issues during that time period. In 1887, Clifford became the first African American
attorney admitted to the West Virginia State Bar. He practiced law for forty-five years and was active in both state and national politics. Clifford was the President of the National Independent League and the first Vice-President of the American Negro Academy. Clifford was among the founders of the Niagara Movement
, with other prominent African-American civil rights leaders such as W. E. B. Du Bois. In 1906, the Niagara Movement's first American meeting occurred in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. The Niagara Movement led to the formation of the NAACP a few years later and is considered to be the cornerstone of the modern Civil Rights Movement
.
In 1933, Clifford died at the age of 85 in Martinsburg, West Virginia. His remains are buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
J.R. Clifford was nearly forgotten to history until he was rediscovered by Dr. Connie Park Rice, the preeminent African American Historian, of West Virginia University. Dr. Rice's book "Don't Flinch Nor Yield An Inch" recounts the complete and factually correct history of J.R. Clifford.
and education case before the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals. In Williams v. Board of Education, Clifford argued against the Tucker County Board of Education's decision to shorten the school year for African-American school children from nine months to five months, keeping a full term for white students. Mrs. Carrie Williams, the colored school's teacher, approached Clifford. He encouraged her to continue teaching for the full nine months, regardless of funding. Clifford then filed a lawsuit against the school board for Williams' back pay. Clifford won the case at a jury trial, and then won again before the WV Supreme Court of Appeals. The Court's decision bolstered equal educational rights for African-American students statewide.
Clifford's victory in the Williams case occurred over fifty years before the landmark "Brown v. Board of Education
" case and was one of the few civil rights victories in a southern state's high court before the turn of the century. The J. R. Clifford Project http://www.jrclifford.org/, an organization dedicated to preserving Clifford’s legacy and researching his life, presents re-enactments of this trial.
From Williams v. Board of Education of Fairfax District, 45 W.Va. 199, 31 SE 985 (1898):
"Counsel insist that the colored pupils, having been allotted their pro rata share of the school funds, have no right to complain. The law guaranteed them eight months of school, and, though it cost many times in proportion what the white schools cost, they should have it. Money values should not be set off against moral and intellectual improvement. A nation that depends on its wealth is a depraved nation, while moral purity and intellectual progress alone can preserve the integrity of free institutions, and the love of true liberty, under the protection of equal laws, in the hearts of the people. "
The court also said:
"Discrimination against the colored people, because of color alone, as to privileges, immunities, and equal legal protection, is contrary to public policy and the law of the land. If any discrimination as to education should be made, it should be favorable to, and not against, the colored people. Held in the bondage of slavery, and continued in a low moral and intellectual condition, for a long period of years, and then clothed at once, without preparation, with full citizenship, in this great republic, and the power to control and guide its destinies, the future welfare, prosperity and peace of our people demand that this benighted race should be elevated by education, both morally and intellectually, and that they may become exemplary citizens; otherwise the perpetuity of our free institutions may be greatly endangered."
Clifford sued because the school board provided eight months of school for white children but only five months for "colored" children. A teacher whose name is not mentioned continued teaching and sued for the salary for the three months. Clifford won for her the salary, totalling $121.00.
postage stamp
series in 2009.
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
first African-American attorney. Clifford was also a newspaper publisher, editor and writer, schoolteacher, and principal. He was a Civil War veteran, grandfather, as well as a civil rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
pioneer and founding member of the Niagara Movement
Niagara Movement
The Niagara Movement was a black civil rights organization founded in 1905 by a group led by W. E. B. Du Bois and William Monroe Trotter. It was named for the "mighty current" of change the group wanted to effect and Niagara Falls, the Canadian side of which was where the first meeting took...
(forerunner to the NAACP). Despite boundaries derived from racial discrimination, J. R. Clifford's accomplishments were great, reflecting his ability and determination.
Biography
John Robert ("J.R.") Clifford was born in 1848 in the small town of WilliamsportWilliamsport, West Virginia
Williamsport is an unincorporated community on Patterson Creek in Grant County, West Virginia, United States. Williamsport is the birthplace of J.R. Clifford , West Virginia's first African-American attorney....
, in what was then Hardy County, Virginia
Hardy County, West Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 12,669 people, 5,204 households, and 3,564 families residing in the county. The population density was 22 people per square mile . There were 7,115 housing units at an average density of 12 per square mile...
(now in Grant County
Grant County, West Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 11,299 people, 4,591 households, and 3,273 families residing in the county. The population density was 24 people per square mile . There were 6,105 housing units at an average density of 13 per square mile...
), near present-day Moorefield
Moorefield, West Virginia
Moorefield is a town in Hardy County, West Virginia, USA. Moorefield is the county seat of Hardy County. It was originally chartered in 1777 and named for Conrad Moore, who owned the land upon which the town was laid out...
. Clifford's parents and grandparents were "free blacks" and had lived in that region of Virginia for several generations. There were no schools for colored children in the area. Clifford's parents sent him to Chicago to attend school, sometime in the early 1860s. In 1864, at the age of fifteen, Clifford enlisted in the United States Colored Troops
United States Colored Troops
The United States Colored Troops were regiments of the United States Army during the American Civil War that were composed of African American soldiers. First recruited in 1863, by the end of the Civil War, the men of the 175 regiments of the USCT constituted approximately one-tenth of the Union...
, and served until 1865. After the Civil War, Clifford learned the barber trade, and then operated a writing school in Ohio and West Virginia. In the early 1870s he enrolled in Harpers Ferry's newly formed Storer College
Storer College
Storer College was a historically black college located in Harpers Ferry in Jefferson County, West Virginia. It operated from 1865 until 1955.-Storer School:...
, created to educate the region's African-American population. After earning his degree in 1877, Clifford became a teacher at, and then the principal of, a segregated public school for African Americans in Martinsburg, West Virginia.
In 1882, Clifford began to publish "The Pioneer Press", a newspaper that was distributed nationally to a largely African American audience. He published the newspaper until 1917; it was the longest running weekly newspaper dedicated to African American issues during that time period. In 1887, Clifford became the first African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
attorney admitted to the West Virginia State Bar. He practiced law for forty-five years and was active in both state and national politics. Clifford was the President of the National Independent League and the first Vice-President of the American Negro Academy. Clifford was among the founders of the Niagara Movement
Niagara Movement
The Niagara Movement was a black civil rights organization founded in 1905 by a group led by W. E. B. Du Bois and William Monroe Trotter. It was named for the "mighty current" of change the group wanted to effect and Niagara Falls, the Canadian side of which was where the first meeting took...
, with other prominent African-American civil rights leaders such as W. E. B. Du Bois. In 1906, the Niagara Movement's first American meeting occurred in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. The Niagara Movement led to the formation of the NAACP a few years later and is considered to be the cornerstone of the modern Civil Rights Movement
Civil rights movement
The civil rights movement was a worldwide political movement for equality before the law occurring between approximately 1950 and 1980. In many situations it took the form of campaigns of civil resistance aimed at achieving change by nonviolent forms of resistance. In some situations it was...
.
In 1933, Clifford died at the age of 85 in Martinsburg, West Virginia. His remains are buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
J.R. Clifford was nearly forgotten to history until he was rediscovered by Dr. Connie Park Rice, the preeminent African American Historian, of West Virginia University. Dr. Rice's book "Don't Flinch Nor Yield An Inch" recounts the complete and factually correct history of J.R. Clifford.
Williams v. Board of Education
In 1898, Clifford won a landmark civil rightsCivil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
and education case before the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals. In Williams v. Board of Education, Clifford argued against the Tucker County Board of Education's decision to shorten the school year for African-American school children from nine months to five months, keeping a full term for white students. Mrs. Carrie Williams, the colored school's teacher, approached Clifford. He encouraged her to continue teaching for the full nine months, regardless of funding. Clifford then filed a lawsuit against the school board for Williams' back pay. Clifford won the case at a jury trial, and then won again before the WV Supreme Court of Appeals. The Court's decision bolstered equal educational rights for African-American students statewide.
Clifford's victory in the Williams case occurred over fifty years before the landmark "Brown v. Board of Education
Brown v. Board of Education
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 347 U.S. 483 , was a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court that declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students unconstitutional. The decision overturned the Plessy v. Ferguson decision of 1896 which...
" case and was one of the few civil rights victories in a southern state's high court before the turn of the century. The J. R. Clifford Project http://www.jrclifford.org/, an organization dedicated to preserving Clifford’s legacy and researching his life, presents re-enactments of this trial.
From Williams v. Board of Education of Fairfax District, 45 W.Va. 199, 31 SE 985 (1898):
"Counsel insist that the colored pupils, having been allotted their pro rata share of the school funds, have no right to complain. The law guaranteed them eight months of school, and, though it cost many times in proportion what the white schools cost, they should have it. Money values should not be set off against moral and intellectual improvement. A nation that depends on its wealth is a depraved nation, while moral purity and intellectual progress alone can preserve the integrity of free institutions, and the love of true liberty, under the protection of equal laws, in the hearts of the people. "
The court also said:
"Discrimination against the colored people, because of color alone, as to privileges, immunities, and equal legal protection, is contrary to public policy and the law of the land. If any discrimination as to education should be made, it should be favorable to, and not against, the colored people. Held in the bondage of slavery, and continued in a low moral and intellectual condition, for a long period of years, and then clothed at once, without preparation, with full citizenship, in this great republic, and the power to control and guide its destinies, the future welfare, prosperity and peace of our people demand that this benighted race should be elevated by education, both morally and intellectually, and that they may become exemplary citizens; otherwise the perpetuity of our free institutions may be greatly endangered."
Clifford sued because the school board provided eight months of school for white children but only five months for "colored" children. A teacher whose name is not mentioned continued teaching and sued for the salary for the three months. Clifford won for her the salary, totalling $121.00.
Niagara Movement
Clifford was one of the founding members of the “Niagara Movement,” which was organized and led by W. E. B. Du Bois. The Niagara Movement called for full civil rights for black Americans and an end to legalized segregation, and is recognized as the cornerstone of the 20th Century civil rights movement and the forerunner to the NAACP. Clifford helped organize the first American Niagara meeting in 1906 at his alma mater Storer College in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. In 2006, the Niagara Movement's Centennial was celebrated by the National Park Service at Harpers Ferry http://www.nps.gov/hafe/niagara/. The J. R. Clifford Project performed the “J.R. Clifford and the Carrie Williams Case” re-enactment program at the event.Prince Hall Masonry
According the Arlington Cemetery records John R. Clifford was a 32nd Degree Mason, a lecturer for the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of West Virginia and Past Grand Master of West Virginia.Commemorated on U.S. stamp
Clifford was among twelve pioneers of civil rights commemorated in a United States Postal ServiceUnited States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for providing postal service in the United States...
postage stamp
Postage stamp
A postage stamp is a small piece of paper that is purchased and displayed on an item of mail as evidence of payment of postage. Typically, stamps are made from special paper, with a national designation and denomination on the face, and a gum adhesive on the reverse side...
series in 2009.