NEW WEB SITE ON HISTORY OF BLACK LAWYERS IN ARKANSAS

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — A new web site — http://www.arkansasblacklawyers.net — has been developed to offer biographical information on more than 75 black men who practiced law in Arkansas between 1865 and 1950. The site is based on the research of Professor Judith Kilpatrick of the University of Arkansas School of Law. It is intended to disseminate knowledge to the public about the role of African-Americans in the state’s development. A second goal is to elicit additional information from the public who visit the site.

Professor Kilpatrick began her research in 1998, when she decided to write a biography of black attorney Wiley Austin Branton, a native of Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and the third African-American to graduate from the University’s law school (1953). In thinking about the circumstances surrounding Branton’s life, particularly the segregation that limited career options for black Americans, questions arose. The research on early African-American lawyers came about through looking for local role models Branton might have had. An article on the subject, "(Extra)Ordinary Men: African-American Lawyers and Civil Rights in Arkansas Before 1950," appeared in the Arkansas Law Review in 2000 (Vol. 53).

The current list of lawyers on the web site is not complete and, for many of those listed, little information exists beyond a name and date. Professor Kilpatrick’s research continues, both on the life of Wiley Branton and on Arkansas’ black lawyers. The web site contains a request for new information. Visitors may contact Professor Kilpatrick (jkilpat@uark.edu) at (479) 575-8743 to exchange views or to convey any additional information they may have on the subject.

Professor Kilpatrick came to Arkansas from New York University to teach in the school of law. Her teaching focuses on practical lawyer skills, e.g., interviewing and counseling, mediation, professional responsibility, and creating a solo practice. Her other writing has been in the area of professional ethics. She received her B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley and her J.D. from Berkeley’s Boalt Hall School of Law. In 1999, she was awarded a J.S.D. from Columbia University.