The First Balck Attorneys in Spokane

By Dale Raugust

When I was attending college at Washington State University in the early 1970s I had the opportunity to work on Carl Maxey’s Senate campaign against Henry Jackson for the Democratic nomination. We all knew at the time that Carl had no chance to win the nomination but that was not the point. The campaign was run to make a statement against the war in Vietnam and Jackson’s continual support of the policies of the President. Later, as a young attorney I had been told that Carl was the first Black attorney in Spokane and I had always believed this to be true, until that is I started my research for this article. The fact that he was not, certainly does not diminish the accomplishments of this great man. Carl was not only a fighter for civil rights but he also devoted a significant portion of his practice to pro bono work.

The book, All Through the Night: The history of Spokane Black Americans, 1860-1940 by Joseph Franklin, and the unpublished Master’s Thesis of Osborn Jones, Black Community in Early Spokane, 1890-1920 (EWU 1976) documents the history of Spokane’s early Black community. There were also four Black newspapers in the early 1900s in Spokane, Copies of two of them, The Spokane Citizen, 1908-1912 and The Spokane Forum 1909-1912, are still available today in the hands of private citizens. It was reported in The Spokesman-Review on December 10, 1908, that at the time there were “three negro attorneys and ten negro ministers” within the city of Spokane. On January 2, 1913, The Spokesman-Review named one of these attorneys. John Adams gave a speech at the Emancipation Day Celebration at the Bethel African Methodist Church. The newspaper reported that: “John Adams, Negro attorney, pointed out the opportunities for Negroes in the Northwest, and declared his readiness to show any enterprising young Negroes places on a nearby Indian Reservation where they can take up homesteads and become independent.” John Adams was prominent enough to have argued cases before the United States Supreme Court and had a practice of both Black and White clients. He later left the practice of law to become a minister.

At least three early cases of racial discrimination went to juries in Spokane before the First World War. The Spokesman-Review reported that on July 7, 1900, a Black man Emmett Holmes was refused service at the restaurant at Natatorium Park. He sued the owner of the Park, the Washington Water Power Company (WWP) for damages. The WWP claimed that service was not denied because the restaurant was full and was reserved for families and couples. The case was tried before a jury in Judge Prather’s courtroom. The jury returned a verdict for WWP in 30 minutes.

In 1911, Albert Thompson was accused of “wronging” a white girl on the Fort Wright Reservation. He was tried in Federal Court which resulted in a hung jury. Later he was tried in military court and convicted and given a long sentence at the government prison at Alcatraz. Spokesman-Review July 10, 1911.

In 1912, William Burks, an older Black man was “roughly put off the street car” owned by the WWP and the conductor called him a “nigger” and other derogatory names. The case was tried before an all white jury in Judge Sullivan’s courtroom. The jury found for the plaintiff and gave him an award of $1,250.00. Spokesman-Review, January 12, 1912.

In 1915 the Spokesman-Review reported that there was at that time 2,500 attorneys of African descent practicing within the United States. Spokesman-Review June 27, 1915.