Coloring book by Friends of Blackwater
J.R. Clifford was a lawyer, teacher, newspaper editor, and soldier born in 1848 in Grant County (then part of Hardy County). He was the first black lawyer to practice law before the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals. In the case Carrie Williams v. The Board of Education Fairfax District, he successfully argued that "discrimination against people because of color alone as to privileges, immunities and equal protection of the law is unconstitutional" more than 50 years before Brown v. Board of Education.
Carrie Williams was a schoolteacher at Coketon Colored School, a segregated school that served the community of Coketon (Tucker County). In 1892, the Tucker County Board of Education cut the public school year for African-American students from eight months to five months, while White students continued to attend for the full eight months. Williams continued to teach for eight months without full pay, eventually suing the School Board with the assistance of J.R. Clifford. In 1898 the case reached the West Virginia Supreme Court and Williams was awarded back pay.
Carrie Williams (Photo via Friends of Blackwater)
Friends of Blackwater has honored J.R. and Carrie's story with live performances, books, murals, a coloring book, and even a comic book!
Visit https://www.jrclifford.org/ to learn more about this story!
