AchievementJanuary 6, 1869· politics
Howard University Law School Opens, Training Black Attorneys
Howard University School of Law opens in Washington, D.C., becoming the only law school in America actively training Black attorneys. Its graduates go on to argue landmark cases, serve in Congress, and build the legal infrastructure for the later civil rights movement. Among its most celebrated faculty: future Supreme Court advocate John Mercer Langston, who served as its first dean.