A LOOK BACK: KAPPA HISTORY
Psi, Hale G. Parker (Chicago (IL) Alum- ni, 1919). Parker was a charter initiate of the Chicago (IL) Alumni Chapter and Watkins followed him in membership, being initiated later the same year. In 1906, Watkins was nominated for Municipal Court Judge. Watkins could not overcome the deep sentiments of racial discord and was ultimately over- looked to be placed on the Democratic ticket. Watkins’ legal talent could not be ignored. In 1911, Mayor Harrison appointed him Assistant Corporation Counsel for the city of Chicago, in recognition of his honorable and faithful service as the city’s Assisting Prosecuting Attorney. In 1912, Watkins won a decision in the Appellate Court on behalf of the city of Chicago. This was the first case in the state of Illinois in which a forfeiture clause in city contracts was called into question. Watkins’ win saved the city hundreds of thousands of dollars. Watkins became the first Black to plead for a city before the U.S. Su- preme Court, in the City of Chicago vs.
Jack Johnson who had been previously charged with violating the Mann Act (White-Slave Traffic Act of 1910). This law was initially designed to combat forced prostitution, but the broad lan- guage within it allowed for it applied to prosecute men for premarital, extramari- tal, and interracial relationships, even those that were consensual. In Johnson’s case, he publicly flaunted relationships with white women. This action made it difficult for Watkins to defend him successfully. Anti-miscege- nation laws had also been enacted in many states. Johnson allegedly trans- ported a white woman, his girlfriend from Pittsburgh to Chicago seven years prior, jumped bond, and fled the United States. Johnson was arrested in San Diego, California, when he crossed the border from Tijuana, Mexico. Watkins sought to have Johnson to be released on bail, pending a new trial. Johnson was granted a stay of execution, pend- ing Watkins’ filing of a writ of error in the Court of Appeals. The judge felt that Johnson was not remorseful, and an all-white jury convicted him. Johnson was fined $1,000 and he was sentenced to serve a year and a day at Leavenworth Prison. In 1924, Watkins was seeking election to Congress by way of the First District. The Illinois Democratic State Commit- tee selected then Assistant Corporation Counsel of Chicago, Earl B. Dickerson (Beta 1913), as an alternate to run against the Republican incumbent. At that time, Dickerson was the current Grand Polemarch, Polemarch of the Chicago (IL) Alumni Chapter, and Wat- kins's fellow chapter member. Dickerson was unsuccessful in winning this seat. Landmark Supreme Court Cases for Fraternal Orders Watkins became to be most notably known for the cases he won before the Supreme Court. Research could not confirm if any other Black successfully argued cases before the Supreme Court prior to Watkins. He specialized in win- ning landmark Supreme Court cases
Chicago Transportation Company case, April 19, 1915. During the same year, Watkins filed a petition to argue a case in the Appellate Court against The Birth of a Nation screening at theaters in Chicago. His pleas, along with the protests by the NAACP, were unsuccessful. The film’s popularity was fueled by the fictionalized romanticism perpetuated by President Woodrow Wilson’s endorsement. The racially charged Jim Crow narrative en- chanted its audiences and increased racial tensions. In 1918, Watkins continued to ascend in his vocation. At the request of Illinois Senator James H. Lewis, Watkins was ap- pointed Assistant U.S. District Attorney, for the Northern District of Illinois by Charles F. Cline, U.S. District Attorney. Two years later, Watkins was retained as attorney for famed boxing champion,
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VIRTUAL 85 TH GRAND CHAPTER MEETING
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