b. Albany, Georgia October 12, 1923; d. March 15, 1988

C.B. King dreamed of becoming a lawyer. He had served in the United States Navy and graduated from Fisk University. Because there was no law school for Blacks in segregated Georgia, he earned a law degree from Case Western Reserve University Law School in Cleveland, Ohio. He returned to Albany as its first Black lawyer and waged a lifelong battle against racism and injustice.

C.B. King was a courageous, eloquent and effective civil rights lawyer. He believed in using the courts for change and steered courtroom victories to desegregate schools, protect students' rights, enforce voting rights, eliminate jury and employment discrimination, open public accommodations for all, and end police brutality. He was respected and admired by leaders of the
civil rights movement who sought his advice and counsel. He worked zealously with the NAACP and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and served as counsel for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He litigated many civil rights cases in the United) States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia.

C.B. King always conducted himself with honor and respect for the judicial system. He practiced law with a resolute dignity which inspired others. He was a persistent and persuasive advocate who maintained high personal, professional and ethical standards. Despite isolation, insults, threats,



caning and cursing, C.B. King never backed down.

In 1962 C.B. King became the first Black to run for the U.S. Congress from South Georgia and in 1970 he became the first Black since Reconstruction to run for Governor of Georgia. He was an eloquent orator and superior legal scholar who inspired several generations of young lawyers to practice law with a commitment to the oppressed. For many, working with C.B. King, a powerful presence in and out of the courtroom, was a decisive turning point in their lives.

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