McCants Stewart
Encyclopedia
McCants Stewart was an American
lawyer
. Born to a prominent attorney in New York, Stewart studied law in Minnesota
and became the first African American
lawyer in the state of Oregon
. His lack of financial success in Oregon led him to eventually move to San Francisco, where failing vision led him to commit suicide. Living in the era of Plessy v. Ferguson
and "separate but equal
" doctrine, his life was said to "reflect an unyielding commitment to the principle of justice for all powerless people in the northwest
."
(1853-1923), a noted black lawyer, civil rights leader and confidant of Booker T. Washington
, whose career took him from South Carolina
to New York
, Hawaii
, London
to serving as an Associate Justice of the Liberian Supreme Court, and Charlotte L. Harris Stewart, herself a graduate of Wilberforce University
. His father's friendship with Washington began before the latter rose to national prominence with the 1895 Atlanta Compromise
speech, and the elder Stewart embraced Washington's principles of thrift, self-help and moral reform, instilling those values on his three children at an early age. His brother, Gilchrist, would also become and attorney and his sister, Carlotta Stewart Lai, would help develop Hawaii's public education system. Stewart attended public schools in New York.
At age sixteen, and at their father's request, Stewart and his brother enrolled at Washington's Tuskegee Institute in Alabama
in 1893. In its twelfth year, the black college
stressed industrial education with strong principles of self-reliance in a strict environment. Stewart did not immediately accept the school's rigid structure, and rebelled in ways that brought the increasing displeasure of Washington. The conflict came to a head in July 1894, as the school council voted to expel
Stewart from the institution. In October 1894, and with Margaret Murray Washington's intervention, he was readmitted. Back at school, he studied piano
and voice, but his main interest became debate
, where he became known for his considerable skill. He graduated in 1896.
Immediately after finishing at Tuskegee, Stewart moved to New York and enrolled at New York University
, where he earned a law certificate in 1896 and worked as a legal assistant in his father's law office. A strong follower of Washington's principles, Stewart's father operated his office and his business relationship with his son under strict guidelines. He required that his son sign a contract which specified his employment and compensation in detail, noting that "my intention is to pay you $3 per week to cover your fare, lunches; allow you 5% of all my fees; at 21, I shall make you Notary Public
and put your name on the door."
to attend the University of Minnesota Law School
. His reason for choosing a northern school in a state with a small black population was never revealed, however the change in environment gave Stewart a new sense of purpose and maturity. Unlike his years at Tuskegee, he was a model graduate student in Minnesota: he excelled academically, wrote from the school newspaper and was an active member of a literary society. He again participated in a debate society, and was elected secretary of the senior class and sheriff of the moot court
, officiating all moot court sessions at the school. During his senior year, his fellow Tuskegee alumnus and University of Minnesota Law student Jay Moses Griffin recruited him to work as business manager of a local newspaper
, the Twin-City American. He later served in the same position for the Afro-American Advance, becoming a visible figure in the black community.
During his time at the Law School, Stewart challenged discrimination from a Minneapolis restaurant that refused to serve him a meal because of his race. Several other patrons observed the incident and left their names with Stewart, who filed
an administrative complaint
with the Minneapolis City Attorney's Office under the recently passed 1897 state civil rights law. After an investigation, the office filed the first prosecution under the law, charging the owner with violating Stewart's civil rights. The owner had previously served black patrons, but once their numbers had risen his white customers dropped off; once he made objections to the black patrons, they also left him. The trial was well attended, and the jury needed only fifteen minutes of deliberation to convict the owner on the charges.
Stewart received an LL.B. in 1899. That June, alongside his classmates, Stewart was sworn into the state bar by Minnesota Supreme Court
Chief Justice
Charles M. Start
. He set up a legal practice in the Twin Cities
, however he also continued working for the newspapers to help finance his continuing education at the Law School. It was during this time he met his future wife, Mary Delia "Mayme" Weir of Minneapolis, who was a student at the University of Minnesota
. Noted as an excellent orator, he was invited to give testimonials as well as participate in public debates on race issues. In 1901, he became the first African American to receive a LL.M. from the University of Minnesota Law School.
In the years immediately following his graduation, Stewart continued to make his home in Minneapolis and speak to crowds in the Twin Cities. An active member of the Republican Party, he was elected Secretary of the Hennepin County
Republican Club in 1902. However, he began testing the market out west and by March 1904 he had decided that it made more business sense to practice law elsewhere and decided to permanently move to Portland, Oregon
. He returned to Minneapolis several times after moving, most notably to marry on August 22, 1905. His wife was a graduate of the University of Minnesota and a music school, and had been a teacher in the Minneapolis public school system. Their wedding, held in Minneapolis, was called "the most notable event of the week in social circles" of the city's black community. Their only child, daughter Mary Katherine, was born a year later.
, and was assigned as the public defender
in a few cases in 1903. Like the Twin Cities, Portland's black community was small when Stewart permanently settled there in 1904. Most African Americans were service workers or unskilled, menial laborers, though there were some black-owned businesses. Stewart's father was disappointed in his son's decision to move to Portland, noting "But for the life of me, I can't see why you are 'using up' your life where you are", suggesting his son try moving abroad like he had. Stewart disregarded the advice and remained in Oregon, and was the first African American admitted to the state bar on March 1, 1901.
After setting up his office in Portland, Stewart struggled to make a decent living. The black population of Oregon remained below 1% of the state's total population until World War II
. Race relations of the time dictated that white Oregonians rarely hired black attorneys, and the even smaller number of educated, wealthy blacks did not offer much of a market. Stewart also took on Japanese
clients. His wife did not work, nor did the couple own property; he earned most of his money from small legal fees. Stewart did earn the respect of his legal colleagues; among them, Oregon Supreme Court
Associate Justice
Henry L. Benson
wrote that he "has established an exceptional record for industry and ability as a lawyer and his work before the Supreme Court has been commendable." Stewart had been the first African American lawyer to argue a case before the Oregon Supreme Court in State v. Browning (1905). In the case, he challenged the Portland Municipal Police Court's jurisdiction over a matter of state law. Though the court ruled against him, it did so with difficulty and the case drew Stewart positive attention and respect.
The highlight of his legal career was his successful argument of the 1906 civil rights
case of Taylor v. Cohn. The case involved Oliver Taylor, a black Pullman car
porter
, who was required to sit in the balcony at a Portland theater. When informed that the theater prohibited the seating of blacks on the main floor, the plaintiff refused to exchange his tickets and sued the owner for $5000. Stewart argued that protecting the rights of blacks against discrimination was accepted as a matter of public policy, despite Oregon's lack of a civil rights bill. At the time, Oregon was more racially progressive than other western states, with state law not segregating schools, housing or public accommodations; though interracial marriage was prohibited. The state's largest newspaper, The Oregonian
, sided with the theater owner's right to exclude any race from its premises; it editorialized that "Colored people are wise to accept conditions that they cannot change or control, and go their way cheerfully", further asserting that "it is a well known fact" that whites objected to sitting next to blacks. In his brief
, Stewart argued that "We have always regarded our rights in every respect to have been secure. So well founded has been our belief until we regard that legislation, known as civil rights laws, which has been enacted in other states, to be unnecessary." The trial court
dismissed the case as groundless, but Stewart appeal
ed. The Oregon Supreme Court agreed with Stewart, and awarded Taylor a favorable judgment.
The successful case did not result in a boom in business, and Stewart continued to struggle financially. To try to broaden his income, he purchased stock in a number of companies, but none were successful. Stewart continued to participate in efforts to improve the black community in Portland, helping found The Advocate
, Portland's second oldest black newspaper. When his own law office burned down in 1908, that newspaper allowed him to use their offices until his building was restored.
A 1907 case highlighted the racism that a black attorney garnered from the white press: a white woman accused Stewart's black client of defamation after alleging he propositioned her on the street. His client was called racial slurs in the press, which also described his cross-examination
as "subject(ing)[the accuser] to the humiliating questions of a black lawyer who defended the black act of his black client in a black way, viz, by again insulting the [white] girl." Stewart did not shy away from speaking out against the oppression of blacks in the South
as well as the lynchings taking place throughout the country
. In 1914, he publicly criticized President
Woodrow Wilson
's failure to halt lynchings.
Stewart's life was seriously affected by physical problems. On April 22, 1909, Stewart was in a streetcar accident: he slipped while running to board which caused his leg to be mangled severely, necessitating the amputation
of his left leg below the knee. He began using a prosthetic leg made out of cork
. His vision then began to fail, causing him to fear he might lose his sight. These issues caused him to rely on charity for a brief period, but he then resumed practice to support his family.
In September 1911, while walking home from a banquet, Stewart stopped at a restaurant to greet some friends inside. As he stood in the doorway, a Portland Police officer ordered him to move on and threatened to arrest him if he refused to comply. Believing he had done no wrong, Stewart objected and the policeman arrested him and made him walk a mile on his prosthetic leg to the police station where he was booked for drunkenness. Authorities refused to charge Stewart, and the next day he filed a complaint of assault
and battery
with the district attorney
, who issued an arrest warrant
against the officer. At the hearing the officer maintained that Stewart was very inebriated while Stewart produced numerous witnesses from the banquet arguing the opposite. The complaint was dismissed and Stewart appealed to the Mayor of Portland and publicized the incident in The Oregon Journal. Whether there was any further action is unknown.
Stewart tried to use his wide number of contacts in the Oregon political and legal community to gain a political appointment, securing letters of recommendation from a number of important members of the legal and ecclesiastical communities. Still an active Republican, his support was solicited by members of the party of all races. However, the small black population kept Stewart from significant success, as he only received a commission as a notary public. Democratic
Governor
George Earle Chamberlain
appointed him as Oregon's representative to the 1908 National Negro Fair in Mobile, Alabama
, where he gave a keynote
address. He was then appointed by Chamberlain as chief commissioner to the National Emancipation Commemoration Society, organized by President William Howard Taft
in 1909. In 1914 he tried to become Portland's public defender
, but did not succeed. In 1916, he lobbied the Oregon State Legislature to repeal anachronistic and unenforced sections of the Oregon constitution that denied suffrage
and basic property rights to blacks. Despite support from The Oregonian, the effort failed.
Stewart's lack of success in Portland led him to move to San Francisco in 1917. He did not find his departure from Portland to be particularly difficult, writing that "The business was not there—I stuck to it—lived in debt—starved and worried but it was not there." He blamed the economy of the region, though did not explicitly cite the racial prejudices that kept white clients from hiring black lawyers. He had trouble with both races: whites considered him a lawyer of "colored people" and did nothing to help him, while blacks frequently neglected to pay his fees, which included an instance in 1917 where Stewart had to sue a black church for services rendered in successfully protecting it from a condemnation proceeding. His departure left Portland without an African American attorney.
sent a letter to California Governor
William Stephens
which introduced and praised Stewart. A number of members of the Oregon judiciary also wrote him recommendations. Thus, despite arriving alone and broke, Stewart arrived in California optimistic that he could succeed and soon formed a partnership with Oscar Hudson, a respected black attorney.
A few months after moving to San Fracisco, Stewart had to return to Oregon to close his office, bring his family to California and finish the appeal of his final Oregon case, Allen v. People's Amusement Co. Just like Taylor eleven years earlier, the case involved a black patron denied seating in the white section of a Portland theater despite his purchase of a general admissions ticket. Before the Oregon Supreme Court, Stewart argued the same theory. Inexplicably, despite the nearly indistinguishable facts, the court ignored Taylor and ruled for the theater's decision to segregate itself. Thus, after his final case in Oregon, the condition of public accommodation of African Americans was no better than when he first arrived.
Upon returning to California, Stewart's optimism for San Francisco was short lived: despite the larger black professional class, there was little affluence and even more racial segregation than in Portland. His legal partnership with Hudson struggled financially, but the two remained committed to it. Ultimately, Stewart gave in to pressure. On April 14, 1919, unable to read his morning newspaper and fearing that he was about to go blind, Stewart wrote a note of farewell
and shot himself in the head in his office. His body was found the following day by a business associate. His suicide note said: "I am going blind. My sight is gone. I can't see to read. Poor Mac. I can't stand it any longer, so I cashed in."
Although Stewart followed many of Booker T. Washington's philosophies of self-reliance, industriousness and good citizenship, he also differed by actively advocating for civil rights for African Americans in an era when discrimination was high. Despite this difference and his early discipline issues at the Tuskegee Institute, Washington cited Stewart in a letter as a model citizen and "a Tuskegee graduate who has a good reputation, stands high in his profession and is succeeding." In 1988, the University of Minnesota Law School awarded a Mary and McCants Stewart Foundation scholarship. During its inauguration, J. Clay Smith, Jr., former dean
of the Howard University School of Law
, noted that "Despite the ominous shadow of segregation, Stewart refused to sacrifice his principles at the expense of his clients or to derogate his beliefs." The respect he gained from his legal colleagues and the judiciary, including former opposing counsel such as those in Taylor, testify to his legal mind and character.
Stewart's daughter would marry Robert B. Flippin, a correctional counselor at San Quentin State Prison
, reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle
and activist with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
(NAACP) as well as other organizations. Mary Katherine Stewart-Flippin donated her family's papers, including those by her grandfather T. McCants Stewart, father and husband to Howard University
. She gave interviews regarding her relatives well into the 1980s.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
. Born to a prominent attorney in New York, Stewart studied law in Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
and became the first African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
lawyer in the state of Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
. His lack of financial success in Oregon led him to eventually move to San Francisco, where failing vision led him to commit suicide. Living in the era of Plessy v. Ferguson
Plessy v. Ferguson
Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 U.S. 537 , is a landmark United States Supreme Court decision in the jurisprudence of the United States, upholding the constitutionality of state laws requiring racial segregation in private businesses , under the doctrine of "separate but equal".The decision was handed...
and "separate but equal
Separate but equal
Separate but equal was a legal doctrine in United States constitutional law that justified systems of segregation. Under this doctrine, services, facilities and public accommodations were allowed to be separated by race, on the condition that the quality of each group's public facilities was to...
" doctrine, his life was said to "reflect an unyielding commitment to the principle of justice for all powerless people in the northwest
Northwestern United States
The Northwestern United States comprise the northwestern states up to the western Great Plains regions of the United States, and consistently include the states of Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, to which part of southeast Alaska is also sometimes included...
."
Early years
Born in Brooklyn, New York, Stewart was the eldest son of T. McCants StewartThomas McCants Stewart
Thomas McCants Stewart was an African American clergyman, lawyer and civil rights leader.Born in Charleston, South Carolina, he became one of the first black students to enroll in the University of South Carolina at Columbia in 1874. He graduated with B.A. and LL.B. degrees, and joined the law...
(1853-1923), a noted black lawyer, civil rights leader and confidant of Booker T. Washington
Booker T. Washington
Booker Taliaferro Washington was an American educator, author, orator, and political leader. He was the dominant figure in the African-American community in the United States from 1890 to 1915...
, whose career took him from South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
to New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
to serving as an Associate Justice of the Liberian Supreme Court, and Charlotte L. Harris Stewart, herself a graduate of Wilberforce University
Wilberforce University
Wilberforce University is a private, coed, liberal arts historically black university located in Wilberforce, Ohio. Affiliated with the African Methodist Episcopal Church, it was the first college to be owned and operated by African Americans...
. His father's friendship with Washington began before the latter rose to national prominence with the 1895 Atlanta Compromise
Atlanta Compromise
The Atlanta Cotton States and International Exposition Speech was an address on the topic of race relations given by Booker T. Washington on September 18, 1895...
speech, and the elder Stewart embraced Washington's principles of thrift, self-help and moral reform, instilling those values on his three children at an early age. His brother, Gilchrist, would also become and attorney and his sister, Carlotta Stewart Lai, would help develop Hawaii's public education system. Stewart attended public schools in New York.
At age sixteen, and at their father's request, Stewart and his brother enrolled at Washington's Tuskegee Institute in Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
in 1893. In its twelfth year, the black college
Historically Black Colleges and Universities
Historically black colleges and universities are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before 1964 with the intention of serving the black community....
stressed industrial education with strong principles of self-reliance in a strict environment. Stewart did not immediately accept the school's rigid structure, and rebelled in ways that brought the increasing displeasure of Washington. The conflict came to a head in July 1894, as the school council voted to expel
Expulsion (academia)
Expulsion or exclusion refers to the permanent removal of a student from a school system or university for violating that institution's rules. Laws and procedures regarding expulsion vary between countries and states.-State sector:...
Stewart from the institution. In October 1894, and with Margaret Murray Washington's intervention, he was readmitted. Back at school, he studied piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
and voice, but his main interest became debate
Debate
Debate or debating is a method of interactive and representational argument. Debate is a broader form of argument than logical argument, which only examines consistency from axiom, and factual argument, which only examines what is or isn't the case or rhetoric which is a technique of persuasion...
, where he became known for his considerable skill. He graduated in 1896.
Immediately after finishing at Tuskegee, Stewart moved to New York and enrolled at New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
, where he earned a law certificate in 1896 and worked as a legal assistant in his father's law office. A strong follower of Washington's principles, Stewart's father operated his office and his business relationship with his son under strict guidelines. He required that his son sign a contract which specified his employment and compensation in detail, noting that "my intention is to pay you $3 per week to cover your fare, lunches; allow you 5% of all my fees; at 21, I shall make you Notary Public
Notary public
A notary public in the common law world is a public officer constituted by law to serve the public in non-contentious matters usually concerned with estates, deeds, powers-of-attorney, and foreign and international business...
and put your name on the door."
Minnesota
After a year of working under his father, Stewart grew tired of the strict arrangement and moved to Minneapolis, MinnesotaMinneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...
to attend the University of Minnesota Law School
University of Minnesota Law School
The University of Minnesota Law School, located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, is a professional school of the University of Minnesota. The school offers a Juris Doctor , Masters of Law for Foreign Lawyers, and joint degrees with J.D./M.B.A., J.D./M.P.A, J.D./M.A., J.D./M.S., J.D./Ph.D.,...
. His reason for choosing a northern school in a state with a small black population was never revealed, however the change in environment gave Stewart a new sense of purpose and maturity. Unlike his years at Tuskegee, he was a model graduate student in Minnesota: he excelled academically, wrote from the school newspaper and was an active member of a literary society. He again participated in a debate society, and was elected secretary of the senior class and sheriff of the moot court
Moot court
A moot court is an extracurricular activity at many law schools in which participants take part in simulated court proceedings, usually to include drafting briefs and participating in oral argument. The term derives from Anglo Saxon times, when a moot was a gathering of prominent men in a...
, officiating all moot court sessions at the school. During his senior year, his fellow Tuskegee alumnus and University of Minnesota Law student Jay Moses Griffin recruited him to work as business manager of a local newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
, the Twin-City American. He later served in the same position for the Afro-American Advance, becoming a visible figure in the black community.
During his time at the Law School, Stewart challenged discrimination from a Minneapolis restaurant that refused to serve him a meal because of his race. Several other patrons observed the incident and left their names with Stewart, who filed
Filing (legal)
In law, filing is the act of submitting a document to the clerk of a court for the court's immediate consideration, for storage in the court's files, or both. Courts will not consider motions unless an appropriate memorandum or brief is filed before the appropriate deadline...
an administrative complaint
Complaint
In legal terminology, a complaint is a formal legal document that sets out the facts and legal reasons that the filing party or parties In legal terminology, a complaint is a formal legal document that sets out the facts and legal reasons (see: cause of action) that the filing party or parties In...
with the Minneapolis City Attorney's Office under the recently passed 1897 state civil rights law. After an investigation, the office filed the first prosecution under the law, charging the owner with violating Stewart's civil rights. The owner had previously served black patrons, but once their numbers had risen his white customers dropped off; once he made objections to the black patrons, they also left him. The trial was well attended, and the jury needed only fifteen minutes of deliberation to convict the owner on the charges.
Stewart received an LL.B. in 1899. That June, alongside his classmates, Stewart was sworn into the state bar by Minnesota Supreme Court
Minnesota Supreme Court
The Minnesota Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Minnesota and consists of seven members. The court was first assembled as a three-judge panel in 1849 when Minnesota was still a territory. The first members were lawyers from outside of the region who were appointed by...
Chief Justice
Chief Justice
The Chief Justice in many countries is the name for the presiding member of a Supreme Court in Commonwealth or other countries with an Anglo-Saxon justice system based on English common law, such as the Supreme Court of Canada, the Constitutional Court of South Africa, the Court of Final Appeal of...
Charles M. Start
Charles M. Start
Charles Monroe Start was a Minnesota jurist and a Chief Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court. He was born in Bakersfield, Vermont...
. He set up a legal practice in the Twin Cities
Twin cities
Twin cities are a special case of two cities or urban centres which are founded in close geographic proximity and then grow into each other over time...
, however he also continued working for the newspapers to help finance his continuing education at the Law School. It was during this time he met his future wife, Mary Delia "Mayme" Weir of Minneapolis, who was a student at the University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
. Noted as an excellent orator, he was invited to give testimonials as well as participate in public debates on race issues. In 1901, he became the first African American to receive a LL.M. from the University of Minnesota Law School.
In the years immediately following his graduation, Stewart continued to make his home in Minneapolis and speak to crowds in the Twin Cities. An active member of the Republican Party, he was elected Secretary of the Hennepin County
Hennepin County, Minnesota
Hennepin County is a county located in the U.S. state of Minnesota, named in honor of the 17th-century explorer Father Louis Hennepin. As of 2010 the population was 1,152,425. Its county seat is Minneapolis. It is by far the most populous county in Minnesota; more than one in five Minnesotans live...
Republican Club in 1902. However, he began testing the market out west and by March 1904 he had decided that it made more business sense to practice law elsewhere and decided to permanently move to Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
. He returned to Minneapolis several times after moving, most notably to marry on August 22, 1905. His wife was a graduate of the University of Minnesota and a music school, and had been a teacher in the Minneapolis public school system. Their wedding, held in Minneapolis, was called "the most notable event of the week in social circles" of the city's black community. Their only child, daughter Mary Katherine, was born a year later.
Oregon
Stewart began spending time in Oregon in 1903. He was allowed to represent clients in local Portland courts before passing the bar examinationBar examination
A bar examination is an examination conducted at regular intervals to determine whether a candidate is qualified to practice law in a given jurisdiction.-Brazil:...
, and was assigned as the public defender
Public defender
The term public defender is primarily used to refer to a criminal defense lawyer appointed to represent people charged with a crime but who cannot afford to hire an attorney in the United States and Brazil. The term is also applied to some ombudsman offices, for example in Jamaica, and is one way...
in a few cases in 1903. Like the Twin Cities, Portland's black community was small when Stewart permanently settled there in 1904. Most African Americans were service workers or unskilled, menial laborers, though there were some black-owned businesses. Stewart's father was disappointed in his son's decision to move to Portland, noting "But for the life of me, I can't see why you are 'using up' your life where you are", suggesting his son try moving abroad like he had. Stewart disregarded the advice and remained in Oregon, and was the first African American admitted to the state bar on March 1, 1901.
After setting up his office in Portland, Stewart struggled to make a decent living. The black population of Oregon remained below 1% of the state's total population until World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Race relations of the time dictated that white Oregonians rarely hired black attorneys, and the even smaller number of educated, wealthy blacks did not offer much of a market. Stewart also took on Japanese
Japanese people
The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...
clients. His wife did not work, nor did the couple own property; he earned most of his money from small legal fees. Stewart did earn the respect of his legal colleagues; among them, Oregon Supreme Court
Oregon Supreme Court
The Oregon Supreme Court is the highest state court in the U.S. state of Oregon. The only court that may reverse or modify a decision of the Oregon Supreme Court is the Supreme Court of the United States. The OSC holds court at the Oregon Supreme Court Building in Salem, Oregon, near the capitol...
Associate Justice
Associate Justice
Associate Justice or Associate Judge is the title for a member of a judicial panel who is not the Chief Justice in some jurisdictions. The title "Associate Justice" is used for members of the United States Supreme Court and some state supreme courts, and for some other courts in Commonwealth...
Henry L. Benson
Henry L. Benson
Henry Lamdin Benson was an American politician and jurist in the state of Oregon. He was the 44th Associate Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court, serving from 1915 to 1921 on the state's highest court...
wrote that he "has established an exceptional record for industry and ability as a lawyer and his work before the Supreme Court has been commendable." Stewart had been the first African American lawyer to argue a case before the Oregon Supreme Court in State v. Browning (1905). In the case, he challenged the Portland Municipal Police Court's jurisdiction over a matter of state law. Though the court ruled against him, it did so with difficulty and the case drew Stewart positive attention and respect.
The highlight of his legal career was his successful argument of the 1906 civil rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
case of Taylor v. Cohn. The case involved Oliver Taylor, a black Pullman car
Pullman (car or coach)
In the United States, Pullman was used to refer to railroad sleeping cars which were built and operated on most U.S. railroads by the Pullman Company from 1867 to December 31, 1968....
porter
Porter (railroad)
A porter is a railway employee assigned to assist passengers aboard a passenger train or to handle their baggage; it may be used particularly to refer to employees assigned to assisting passengers in the sleeping cars....
, who was required to sit in the balcony at a Portland theater. When informed that the theater prohibited the seating of blacks on the main floor, the plaintiff refused to exchange his tickets and sued the owner for $5000. Stewart argued that protecting the rights of blacks against discrimination was accepted as a matter of public policy, despite Oregon's lack of a civil rights bill. At the time, Oregon was more racially progressive than other western states, with state law not segregating schools, housing or public accommodations; though interracial marriage was prohibited. The state's largest newspaper, The Oregonian
The Oregonian
The Oregonian is the major daily newspaper in Portland, Oregon, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the U.S. west coast, founded as a weekly by Thomas J. Dryer on December 4, 1850...
, sided with the theater owner's right to exclude any race from its premises; it editorialized that "Colored people are wise to accept conditions that they cannot change or control, and go their way cheerfully", further asserting that "it is a well known fact" that whites objected to sitting next to blacks. In his brief
Brief (law)
A brief is a written legal document used in various legal adversarial systems that is presented to a court arguing why the party to the case should prevail....
, Stewart argued that "We have always regarded our rights in every respect to have been secure. So well founded has been our belief until we regard that legislation, known as civil rights laws, which has been enacted in other states, to be unnecessary." The trial court
Trial court
A trial court or court of first instance is a court in which trials take place. Such courts are said to have original jurisdiction.- In the United States :...
dismissed the case as groundless, but Stewart appeal
Appeal
An appeal is a petition for review of a case that has been decided by a court of law. The petition is made to a higher court for the purpose of overturning the lower court's decision....
ed. The Oregon Supreme Court agreed with Stewart, and awarded Taylor a favorable judgment.
The successful case did not result in a boom in business, and Stewart continued to struggle financially. To try to broaden his income, he purchased stock in a number of companies, but none were successful. Stewart continued to participate in efforts to improve the black community in Portland, helping found The Advocate
The Advocate (Portland, Oregon)
The Advocate was a weekly newspaper in Portland in the U.S. state of Oregon, established to cover issues relating to racial minorities. It was founded in 1903 and is believed to have run until 1933, the latest date for which microfilm is available....
, Portland's second oldest black newspaper. When his own law office burned down in 1908, that newspaper allowed him to use their offices until his building was restored.
A 1907 case highlighted the racism that a black attorney garnered from the white press: a white woman accused Stewart's black client of defamation after alleging he propositioned her on the street. His client was called racial slurs in the press, which also described his cross-examination
Cross-examination
In law, cross-examination is the interrogation of a witness called by one's opponent. It is preceded by direct examination and may be followed by a redirect .- Variations by Jurisdiction :In...
as "subject(ing)
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
as well as the lynchings taking place throughout the country
Lynching in the United States
Lynching, the practice of killing people by extrajudicial mob action, occurred in the United States chiefly from the late 18th century through the 1960s. Lynchings took place most frequently in the South from 1890 to the 1920s, with a peak in the annual toll in 1892.It is associated with...
. In 1914, he publicly criticized President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
's failure to halt lynchings.
Stewart's life was seriously affected by physical problems. On April 22, 1909, Stewart was in a streetcar accident: he slipped while running to board which caused his leg to be mangled severely, necessitating the amputation
Amputation
Amputation is the removal of a body extremity by trauma, prolonged constriction, or surgery. As a surgical measure, it is used to control pain or a disease process in the affected limb, such as malignancy or gangrene. In some cases, it is carried out on individuals as a preventative surgery for...
of his left leg below the knee. He began using a prosthetic leg made out of cork
Cork (material)
Cork is an impermeable, buoyant material, a prime-subset of bark tissue that is harvested for commercial use primarily from Quercus suber , which is endemic to southwest Europe and northwest Africa...
. His vision then began to fail, causing him to fear he might lose his sight. These issues caused him to rely on charity for a brief period, but he then resumed practice to support his family.
In September 1911, while walking home from a banquet, Stewart stopped at a restaurant to greet some friends inside. As he stood in the doorway, a Portland Police officer ordered him to move on and threatened to arrest him if he refused to comply. Believing he had done no wrong, Stewart objected and the policeman arrested him and made him walk a mile on his prosthetic leg to the police station where he was booked for drunkenness. Authorities refused to charge Stewart, and the next day he filed a complaint of assault
Assault
In law, assault is a crime causing a victim to fear violence. The term is often confused with battery, which involves physical contact. The specific meaning of assault varies between countries, but can refer to an act that causes another to apprehend immediate and personal violence, or in the more...
and battery
Battery (crime)
Battery is a criminal offense involving unlawful physical contact, distinct from assault which is the fear of such contact.In the United States, criminal battery, or simply battery, is the use of force against another, resulting in harmful or offensive contact...
with the district attorney
District attorney
In many jurisdictions in the United States, a District Attorney is an elected or appointed government official who represents the government in the prosecution of criminal offenses. The district attorney is the highest officeholder in the jurisdiction's legal department and supervises a staff of...
, who issued an arrest warrant
Arrest warrant
An arrest warrant is a warrant issued by and on behalf of the state, which authorizes the arrest and detention of an individual.-Canada:Arrest warrants are issued by a judge or justice of the peace under the Criminal Code of Canada....
against the officer. At the hearing the officer maintained that Stewart was very inebriated while Stewart produced numerous witnesses from the banquet arguing the opposite. The complaint was dismissed and Stewart appealed to the Mayor of Portland and publicized the incident in The Oregon Journal. Whether there was any further action is unknown.
Stewart tried to use his wide number of contacts in the Oregon political and legal community to gain a political appointment, securing letters of recommendation from a number of important members of the legal and ecclesiastical communities. Still an active Republican, his support was solicited by members of the party of all races. However, the small black population kept Stewart from significant success, as he only received a commission as a notary public. Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
Governor
Governor of Oregon
The Governor of Oregon is the top executive of the government of the U.S. state of Oregon. The title of governor was also applied to the office of Oregon's chief executive during the provisional and U.S. territorial governments....
George Earle Chamberlain
George Earle Chamberlain
George Earle Chamberlain was an American politician, legislator, and public official in Oregon. A native of Mississippi and trained lawyer, he served as the 11th Governor of Oregon, a representative in the Oregon Legislative Assembly, a United States Senator.-Early life:Chamberlain was born near...
appointed him as Oregon's representative to the 1908 National Negro Fair in Mobile, Alabama
Mobile, Alabama
Mobile is the third most populous city in the Southern US state of Alabama and is the county seat of Mobile County. It is located on the Mobile River and the central Gulf Coast of the United States. The population within the city limits was 195,111 during the 2010 census. It is the largest...
, where he gave a keynote
Keynote
A keynote in literature, music, or public speaking establishes the principal underlying theme. In corporate or commercial settings, greater importance is attached to the delivery of a keynote speech or keynote address...
address. He was then appointed by Chamberlain as chief commissioner to the National Emancipation Commemoration Society, organized by President William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft was the 27th President of the United States and later the tenth Chief Justice of the United States...
in 1909. In 1914 he tried to become Portland's public defender
Public defender
The term public defender is primarily used to refer to a criminal defense lawyer appointed to represent people charged with a crime but who cannot afford to hire an attorney in the United States and Brazil. The term is also applied to some ombudsman offices, for example in Jamaica, and is one way...
, but did not succeed. In 1916, he lobbied the Oregon State Legislature to repeal anachronistic and unenforced sections of the Oregon constitution that denied suffrage
Suffrage
Suffrage, political franchise, or simply the franchise, distinct from mere voting rights, is the civil right to vote gained through the democratic process...
and basic property rights to blacks. Despite support from The Oregonian, the effort failed.
Stewart's lack of success in Portland led him to move to San Francisco in 1917. He did not find his departure from Portland to be particularly difficult, writing that "The business was not there—I stuck to it—lived in debt—starved and worried but it was not there." He blamed the economy of the region, though did not explicitly cite the racial prejudices that kept white clients from hiring black lawyers. He had trouble with both races: whites considered him a lawyer of "colored people" and did nothing to help him, while blacks frequently neglected to pay his fees, which included an instance in 1917 where Stewart had to sue a black church for services rendered in successfully protecting it from a condemnation proceeding. His departure left Portland without an African American attorney.
San Francisco
As he prepared to move to California, Stewart received a number of letters of praise and commendation, as well as references. Among them, Oregon Governor James WithycombeJames Withycombe
James Withycombe was a British-born American politician, a Republican, and the 15th Governor of Oregon. Prior to entering politics he was farmer and sheep rancher in the Tualatin Valley, leading to appointment as the state's veterinarian and then as head of what became the Oregon State University...
sent a letter to California Governor
Governor of California
The Governor of California is the chief executive of the California state government, whose responsibilities include making annual State of the State addresses to the California State Legislature, submitting the budget, and ensuring that state laws are enforced...
William Stephens
William Stephens
William Dennison Stephens was an American federal and state politician. A three-term member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1911 to 1916, Stephens was also the 24th Governor of California from 1917 to 1923....
which introduced and praised Stewart. A number of members of the Oregon judiciary also wrote him recommendations. Thus, despite arriving alone and broke, Stewart arrived in California optimistic that he could succeed and soon formed a partnership with Oscar Hudson, a respected black attorney.
A few months after moving to San Fracisco, Stewart had to return to Oregon to close his office, bring his family to California and finish the appeal of his final Oregon case, Allen v. People's Amusement Co. Just like Taylor eleven years earlier, the case involved a black patron denied seating in the white section of a Portland theater despite his purchase of a general admissions ticket. Before the Oregon Supreme Court, Stewart argued the same theory. Inexplicably, despite the nearly indistinguishable facts, the court ignored Taylor and ruled for the theater's decision to segregate itself. Thus, after his final case in Oregon, the condition of public accommodation of African Americans was no better than when he first arrived.
Upon returning to California, Stewart's optimism for San Francisco was short lived: despite the larger black professional class, there was little affluence and even more racial segregation than in Portland. His legal partnership with Hudson struggled financially, but the two remained committed to it. Ultimately, Stewart gave in to pressure. On April 14, 1919, unable to read his morning newspaper and fearing that he was about to go blind, Stewart wrote a note of farewell
Suicide note
A suicide note or death note is a message that states the author has died by suicide, and left to be discovered and read in anticipation of suicide....
and shot himself in the head in his office. His body was found the following day by a business associate. His suicide note said: "I am going blind. My sight is gone. I can't see to read. Poor Mac. I can't stand it any longer, so I cashed in."
Legacy
Stewart achieved several firsts for African Americans: he was the first to become an Oregon lawyer, the first to argue and the first to win a case before Oregon Supreme Court, and the first to receive an LL.M. from the University of Minnesota Law School.Although Stewart followed many of Booker T. Washington's philosophies of self-reliance, industriousness and good citizenship, he also differed by actively advocating for civil rights for African Americans in an era when discrimination was high. Despite this difference and his early discipline issues at the Tuskegee Institute, Washington cited Stewart in a letter as a model citizen and "a Tuskegee graduate who has a good reputation, stands high in his profession and is succeeding." In 1988, the University of Minnesota Law School awarded a Mary and McCants Stewart Foundation scholarship. During its inauguration, J. Clay Smith, Jr., former dean
Dean (education)
In academic administration, a dean is a person with significant authority over a specific academic unit, or over a specific area of concern, or both...
of the Howard University School of Law
Howard University School of Law
Howard University School of Law is one of the professional graduate schools of Howard University. Located in Washington, D.C., it is one the oldest law schools in the country and the oldest historically black college or university law school in the United States...
, noted that "Despite the ominous shadow of segregation, Stewart refused to sacrifice his principles at the expense of his clients or to derogate his beliefs." The respect he gained from his legal colleagues and the judiciary, including former opposing counsel such as those in Taylor, testify to his legal mind and character.
Stewart's daughter would marry Robert B. Flippin, a correctional counselor at San Quentin State Prison
San Quentin State Prison
San Quentin State Prison is a California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation state prison for men in unincorporated San Quentin, Marin County, California, United States. Opened in July 1852, it is the oldest prison in the state. California's only death row for male inmates, the largest...
, reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
and activist with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, usually abbreviated as NAACP, is an African-American civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909. Its mission is "to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to...
(NAACP) as well as other organizations. Mary Katherine Stewart-Flippin donated her family's papers, including those by her grandfather T. McCants Stewart, father and husband to Howard University
Howard University
Howard University is a federally chartered, non-profit, private, coeducational, nonsectarian, historically black university located in Washington, D.C., United States...
. She gave interviews regarding her relatives well into the 1980s.