Attorney Floyd Haynes
Attorney Floyd Haynes was born in Georgia in 1914 and came to Youngstown at the age of ten. Haynes was president of Youngstown’s first NAACP Youth Council as a young man, leading the movement against segregation in Youngstown. After serving in World War II, receiving a Victory Medal and a Good Conduct Medal, Haynes returned home to Ohio and was appointed a Field Auditor with the Bureau of Workers Compensation. He then received his JD Degree from Akron University and practiced law from 1959-1996. Attorney Haynes remained active in various civic organizations throughout his life, including serving on the General Counsel and as a Board Member of the Trustees of Youngstown Area Development Corporation, as well as membership in the United Way Council and as President of the Buckeye Review Publishing Corporation.
Attorney William Higgins, a native of Campbell, became Youngstown’s first African American Law Director in 1972. Attorney Higgins received a Bachelor of Law degree from Ohio State University and was admitted to the bar in 1951.
Judge Nathaniel R Jones
Judge Nathaniel R Jones was born in Youngstown in 1926. He served in the Air Force during World War II and received his AB and LLB from Youngstown State University before being admitted to the Ohio Bar in 1957. Jones was active in fighting for civil rights throughout his career. He was Executive Director of the Fair Employment Practices Commission of Youngstown from 1956-1959, Assistant United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio from 1957-1967, and then was appointed as Assistant General Counsel to President Johnson’s National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders, better known as the Kerner Commision. He then served as General Counsel for the NAACP from 1969 to 1979. In 1979, President Carter nominated Jones to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, an office he held for 23 years before retiring in 2002. Judge Jones was honored by the city in 2003 when the new courthouse was named the Nathaniel Jones Federal Building and United States Court House.
- The state of black America 2006: stagnation and, in some cases, ‘retrenchment’
- [The Honorable Nathaniel R. Jones]
- [Judge Nathaniel R. Jones]
- Reapportionment suit before federal court
Researchers may also wish to view the Judge Nathaniel R Jones Papers at the Robert S Marx Law Library of the University of Cincinatti College of Law.
William R Stewart
Attorney William R Stewart was born in New Castle, Pennsylvania and came to Youngstown as an infant. Upon graduation from Rayen School in 1883 he became a clerk with a local law firm until 1885 when he was baggage master and bookkeeper for the P & W railroad. He then attended Cincinnati Law college and was the first African American admitted to the Bar of Youngstown in May of 1888. He married Dr. Consuelo Clark in 1890, who was the first African American woman physician in Youngstown. He was elected State Representative on November 5, 1895. As a state legislator, Stewart’s accomplishments included supporting the building of the Market Street bridge and organizing Saint Elizabeth Hospital as well as passing anti-lynching laws and establishing pensions for police and firefighters. Stewart then returned to law and practiced well into the 20th century, retiring at the age of 90 in 1955. He was remembered in his April 5th, 1958 Vindicator obituary as “the dean of Youngstown’s attorneys”.
In 1990 a reapportionment case was filed on behalf of Isadore Blakeny, A. Mustafi Ali and Ezell L. Armour. The suit sought to draw boundaries in such a way that African Americans running for a state representative office in Mahoning County would have a fair chance.
- Reapportionment suit before federal court
- 3 district judges to hear case
- See also Michael Beverly’s interview with Frankie Halfacre for further discussion of this case [page 8-9.
