June 9 - BlackFacts.com Black History Minute

BlackFacts.com: Learn/Teach/Create Black History

BlackFacts.com presents the black fact of the day for June 9.

Oliver W. Hill became the 1st Black person elected to the city council in Richmond, Virginia.

He was a prominent civil rights attorney. His work against racial discrimination helped end the doctrine of "separate but equal."

Hill first practiced law in Roanoke, Virginia, before settling in Richmond in 1939.

He joined the legal team of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

Hill’s first civil rights victory was in 1940 when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that African American teachers had to be paid the same as white teachers.

He served as an officer or on the board of many national, state, and local organizations, including the NAACP and the National Bar Association.

In 1947, he first ran for the City Council of Richmond but came in 10th in a race for 9 seats.

Hill ran again in 1949 and became the first African American on the City Council of Richmond since Reconstruction.

He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1999.

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