Women

Women in Law: 1953-1969

How a small but growing number of women pursued law careers and advocated before the Supreme Court

The Roles of Wives: 1953-1969

How wives of justices supported their husbands, pursued their own interests, and managed their households and families

The Role of Supreme Court Wives

The significant roles of Supreme Court wives during the early decades of the Court.

Lucile Lomen

Linda Brown

The seven-year-old girl who became the face of Brown v. Board of Education, an educator, and a lifelong activist

Incorporating Rights

During the 1950s and 1960s, Supreme Court decisions addressed issues involving individual rights in the civil rights movement, the apportionment of voting, police procedures, and the scope of state power in areas such as birth control and school prayer.

Griswold v. Connecticut

The first Supreme Court case linking reproduction to the right to privacy

Dorothy Kenyon

The lawyer and social activist whose lifelong advocacy laid the foundation for litigating women’s rights

Constance Baker Motley

The daughter of Caribbean immigrants who became a monumental civil rights advocate, pioneer in politics, and the first Black woman to argue before the Supreme Court and to serve as a federal district judge.

Bessie Margolin

The daughter of Russian-Jewish immigrants who dedicated her four decades of government service to fighting for workers’ rights