A LOOK BACK: KAPPA HISTORY
These incidents of racial disparities further fueled Dickerson’s resolve to achieve and make a direct impact on issues of social justice that affected him and those of his race. Dickerson’s quest to become an at- torney and a change agent was realized when he received a response from the University of Chicago Law School. They offered him a reduction in tuition by working in the law library. Dickerson subsequently resigned his position as principal and enrolled at the University of Chicago Law School in the fall of 1915. His education had been inter- rupted by the advent of the Great War in 1917. The twenty-five-year-old Dicker- son deferred his dream of becoming an attorney to fight for democracy, freedom, and equality differently by volunteering to serve the nation in the Army. Dick- erson joined a newly established Negro Officer’s Training Camp to become a commissioned officer, with the rank of Second Lieutenant. Shortly after returning to Chicago after the war ended, Dickerson found the same indifference toward Blacks he experienced before leaving. Chicago and other cities in the United States erupted in race riots during the summer of 1919, known as the Red Summer. Focused on achieving his dream, Dickerson re- enrolled at the University of Chicago Law School. He later reflected about concerns for his safety during the race riots; he kept his service revolver on his person concealed under his coat while traveling to and from school. Amid this turmoil, Dickerson received his law de- gree in March of 1920 – becoming the first Black to earn a juris doctor (J.D.) from the University of Chicago Law School. Among his long list of accomplish- ments, Dickerson served as the first General Counsel, Director, and Chair- man of the Board of Liberty Life Insur- ance Company; Assistant Corporation Counsel of Chicago; Assistant Attorney General of Illinois; co-founder of the NAACP Legal Defense and Education
Initial plans involved the Law School to host an in-person, two-day Earl B. Dickerson Centennial Conference on April 17 and 18, 2020. It had to be postponed due to Covid-19 concerns and was subsequently held virtually. Part I of the conference, which was rescheduled to October 30, 2020, focused on scholar- ship, and Part II’s date was also amend- ed, held April 16, 2021, and involved the community. This remarkable event was planned by three faculty members, Professors Richard McAdams, William Hubbard, and Sharon Fairley. They arranged a variety of projects, exhibits, and other special events held during the conference. This conference also included five one- hour panels of esteemed scholars who spoke on various subjects that explored Dickerson’s legacy. The conference presented two panels of widely respected intellectuals and individuals who person- ally knew Dickerson, including, but not limited to, Valerie Jarrett, noted historian Timuel Black, Barbara Bowman, and Dickerson’s grandson Stephen Brown, who shared their reflections. Scenes from Lorraine Hansberry’s Raisin in the Sun stage production, inspired by the Hans- berry v. Lee case, were also performed by the University of Chicago Court Theater students. Commentaries were given by several other guests, including the Grand Historian Kevin Scott, who provided a synopsis of Dickerson’s Fraternity history. During the conference’s closing re- marks, Dean Miles announced that plans were underway to add a portrait of Dick- erson in the Law School. Before adding Dickerson’s likeness in an oil painting, all previously hung portraits were of former faculty members. Dean Miles stated, “It is fitting that the likeness of Earl B. Dickerson should join those of the Law School faculty who were a source of inspiration for him…His portrait should raise the aspirations of today’s students as to the great and varied accomplishments they can achieve with the transformative education they receive here at our Law School.”
Fund; and the first Black Democratic Alderman elected to the Chicago City Council. Additionally, Dickerson served as President of the National Bar Asso- ciation; a charter member of FDR’s first Fair Employment Practices Committee; the sole Black member of the Illinois Fair Employment Practices Commis- sion; leader of the movement that broke the color barrier to membership in the Illinois Bar Association and co-founder of Burr Oak Cemetery to provide a buri- al location for Blacks in the Chicagoland area. He also is most notably known for winning the landmark Supreme Court case of Hansberry v. Lee (1940), an opposition to the racially restrictive covenants in Chicago. Hansberry was the father of the renowned playwright Lorraine Hansberry. The Law School had been well aware of Dickerson’s storied and famed career as an attorney. As such, the Law School began to formulate plans to create an event one year in advance of his cen- tennial graduation anniversary. This event would also celebrate Dickerson’s astonishing legal career as one of their cherished alumni. It was long believed and reported that Dickerson held the distinction of being the first Black to earn any degree from the Law School. While preparing for this event, Law School student Adam Hassanein (Class of 2021) conducted independent research and discovered that Nelson M. Willis (fellow member of Kappa Alpha Psi, Iota 1918) received the Bachelor of Laws, or LLB, in 1918 from the University of Chicago Law School, making him the Law School’s first Black graduate. Once made aware of this historic accomplishment, the Law School dedicated an official photo- graph of Willis inside the Law School’s classroom hallway among other former Law School student luminaries. Willis served as Iota Chapter’s first Polemarch and was a Charter Member of the Louisville (KY) Alumni Chapter. While serving as Grand Polemarch, Dickerson appointed Willis as the first Polemarch of the original Southern Province.
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