Mahala Ashley Dickerson
Encyclopedia
Mahala Ashley Dickerson grew up in Alabama
on a plantation owned by her father. She attended a private school, Miss White's School, where she began a lifelong friendship with Rosa Parks
, who would become a hero of the civil rights
movement.
Dickerson graduated from Fisk University
in 1935, married Henry Dickerson and had triplets, Alfred, John and Chris (a well known professional bodybuilder). She later divorced, and when the boys were 6, she went to Howard University
School of Law, becoming one of four women to graduate in her class of 1936. After working as an attorney in Alabama and Indiana, she moved to Alaska with her sons, where she homesteaded.
She was the first black female attorney in her home state of Alabama in 1948 and the second black woman admitted to the bar in Indiana
in 1951. She was also Alaska's first black attorney, admitted to the bar in 1959 and the first black president of the National Association of Women Lawyers, 1983-1984.
According to her Alaska Bar Association profile, Dickerson prosecuted "one of the first equal pay cases on behalf of women university professors who received less pay than their male counterparts." In 1995, she was awarded the Margaret Brent
Award from the American Bar Association
, an honor also given to U.S. Supreme Court Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg
and Sandra Day O'Connor
.
Dickerson practiced law into her nineties and was considered an advocate for the poor and underprivileged. She told the Anchorage Daily News, "In my life, I didn't have but two things to do. Those were to stay black and to die. I'm just not afraid to fight somebody big...Whenever there's somebody being mistreated, if they want me, I'll help them."
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
on a plantation owned by her father. She attended a private school, Miss White's School, where she began a lifelong friendship with Rosa Parks
Rosa Parks
Rosa Louise McCauley Parks was an African-American civil rights activist, whom the U.S. Congress called "the first lady of civil rights", and "the mother of the freedom movement"....
, who would become a hero of the 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...
movement.
Dickerson graduated from Fisk University
Fisk University
Fisk University is an historically black university founded in 1866 in Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. The world-famous Fisk Jubilee Singers started as a group of students who performed to earn enough money to save the school at a critical time of financial shortages. They toured to raise funds to...
in 1935, married Henry Dickerson and had triplets, Alfred, John and Chris (a well known professional bodybuilder). She later divorced, and when the boys were 6, she went to Howard University
Howard University
Howard University is a federally chartered, non-profit, private, coeducational, nonsectarian, historically black university located in Washington, D.C., United States...
School of Law, becoming one of four women to graduate in her class of 1936. After working as an attorney in Alabama and Indiana, she moved to Alaska with her sons, where she homesteaded.
She was the first black female attorney in her home state of Alabama in 1948 and the second black woman admitted to the bar in Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
in 1951. She was also Alaska's first black attorney, admitted to the bar in 1959 and the first black president of the National Association of Women Lawyers, 1983-1984.
According to her Alaska Bar Association profile, Dickerson prosecuted "one of the first equal pay cases on behalf of women university professors who received less pay than their male counterparts." In 1995, she was awarded the Margaret Brent
Margaret Brent
Margaret Brent , an English immigrant to the Colony of Maryland, was the first woman in the English North American colonies to appear before a court of the Common Law. She was a significant founding settler in the early histories of the colonies of Maryland and Virginia...
Award from the American Bar Association
American Bar Association
The American Bar Association , founded August 21, 1878, is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. The ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of academic standards for law schools, and the formulation...
, an honor also given to U.S. Supreme Court Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Ruth Joan Bader Ginsburg is an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Ginsburg was appointed by President Bill Clinton and took the oath of office on August 10, 1993. She is the second female justice and the first Jewish female justice.She is generally viewed as belonging to...
and Sandra Day O'Connor
Sandra Day O'Connor
Sandra Day O'Connor is an American jurist who was the first female member of the Supreme Court of the United States. She served as an Associate Justice from 1981 until her retirement from the Court in 2006. O'Connor was appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1981...
.
Dickerson practiced law into her nineties and was considered an advocate for the poor and underprivileged. She told the Anchorage Daily News, "In my life, I didn't have but two things to do. Those were to stay black and to die. I'm just not afraid to fight somebody big...Whenever there's somebody being mistreated, if they want me, I'll help them."