Howard University Digital Howard @ Howard University Selected Speeches J. Clay Smith, Jr. Collection 4-14-1988 McCants Stewart, An Afro-American Legal Pioneer J. Clay Smith Jr. Follow this and additional works at:http://dh.howard.edu/jcs_speeches Part of theLegal Commons Recommended Citation Smith, J. Clay Jr., "McCants Stewart, An Afro-American Legal Pioneer" (1988).Selected Speeches.Paper 111. http://dh.howard.edu/jcs_speeches/111 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the J. Clay Smith, Jr. Collection at Digital Howard @ Howard University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Selected Speeches by an authorized administrator of Digital Howard @ Howard University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. -.. ' .... ,-£ • McCANTS STEWART, AN AFRO-AMERICAN LEGAL PIONEER. J. Clay Smith, Jr ••• This paper is about McCants Stewart, one of the first Afro-Americans to be graduated from the Uni versit y of Minnesota law School, and the first Afro-American to be admitted to the bar, and to practice law in the state of Oregon. He was a trailblazing Afro-American lawyer in the northwestern part of the United States from the early 1900's until his death in 1919. His life as a lawyer was filled with many brave acts that secured the principle of justice for all powerless Afro-Americans, whi te and Asian peoples in the northwest part of the nation. The life of McCants Stewart is one of achievement, even though it could have been limdted by the racially repressive period during which he lived. McCants Stewart was born in 1877, the year that the Reconstruction period ended.1I He was graduated from Tuskegee Instit ute in Alabama in 1896, the year that the United States Supreme Court decided Plessy v. Ferguson,~ and the year that William McKinley was elected president of the United States.~ For the rest of his life, Stewart lived in a nation in which the United States Suprem Cburt legal doctrine of "separate but equal"l1 would ~nfluence American politics and social customs as relates to Afro-Americans. Stewart, a second generation lawyer, never sacrificed his principles at the expense of his clients, or in derogation of his beliefs. What Stewart accomplished in his relatively short life is a lifetime of -2- achievement for JOOst lawyers. McCants Stewart has earned his place in the history of American law as a private practitioner whose legal skills and unrestrained advocacy compelled people in the northwestern portion of the United States to respect his legal acumen. DAYS AT TUSKIDEEtNSTITUTE McCants Stewart was born on July 11, 1877, in Brooklyn, New York.E./ He was the son of Charlotte Harris Stewart and T. McCants Stewart, who was admitted to the South Carolina bar two years before Mccants Stewart was born.S/ McCants Stewart attended and was graduated fran Tuskegee Institute in Tuskegee Institute, Alabama. He attended the Institute under the leadership of Booker T. Washington. The personality of Mccants Stewart as a student is revealed in a series of letters between Booker T. Washington, his wife, Margaret James Washington, and Stewart. In one letter Booker T. Washington scolded Stewart for eating between meals, which was forbidden at the Institute. Stewart, apparently a small-framed lad, wanted to eat his meals at odd times, but Booker T. Washington would have none of it. On May 10, 1894, Booker T. Washington wrote to Stewart on this subject: McCants Stewart:- In connection with Dr. Johnson, I have fully considered your request regarding food. She says that the main trouble with you is that you do not obey her orders; that you eat between meals, when if you would confine yourself to the dining room diet, you would very soon grow alright. I see no reason why you should be treated in this respect, different from the other students, and I do not see anything further that I can do in regard to the matter. I have fully considered everything, and am decided that there is nothing else to be done at present.7/ In July, 1894, Stewart was in trouble again for violating some rule of the Institute. The Council of Tuskegee Institute voted to expel him. -3- Stewart must have ~itten Booker T. Washington a letter which did not set well with him. On July 14, 1894, Washington, who was traveling in Boston, Massachusetts, wrote: Dear Stewart:- I ~ve received your letter and have carefully considered it. I ,am sorry that you have acted in the way that you have. Even if I had no other evidence than your own statement, and the temper you manifest throughout your letter, I would decide that the Council was perfectly and thoroughly justifiable in taking the action it did in regard to your case. The trouble with you is, and it is a trouble that is gOing to cause you to regret this propensity in after life, that you are determdned to have your own way in regard to everything that does not go to suit you. I had hoped that after your promise to me that you were going to control yourself, at least for the Summer, that you would do so and try to make a man of yourself, but I am sorely disappointed. In after years, I think you will find that you have made a serious mistake. When I am absent from the school, I never attempt to interfere, in any way, with the decisions of the Oouncil or those in charge.a/ I shall write your father to-day, and ask him to take whatever steps for your future he thinks best. By October 11, 1894, Stewart, now 11 ving in Notasulga, Alabama., had plead his case for readmission to Tuskegee Institute to Mrs. Booker T. Washington. His plea for readmission was communicated to Booker T. Washington, who was in New York. Mr. Washington wrote Stewart the following letter: Dear Mac:- Mrs. Washington wrote me a few days ago that she was going to write you. I do not know whether or not she has done so. If you now think that you are in a state of mdnd that will permit you to obey the rules of the school, and be governed by what we think will be best for you, I think I shall ask the Oouncil as soon as I return to penni t you to re-enter the school, but I wish to know what your intentions are in regard to obedience be fore making an application of this kind •••• 9/ -4- By October 27; 1894, the Council had voted, probably with the endorsement of Mr. Washington to readmit Stewart to Tuskegee lnstit ute. Stewart, still living in Notasulga, received the following letter from Mr. Washington: Dear Stewart:- Your case has been put before the Council, and it has been decided to allow you to return to school January 1st. This being true, I think it will be well for you to ask Mr. Roy to let you come down to the school, and we will see if you can be helped in the matter of getting what clothing you may need for the Winter. I wish you would come at once as I shall be going away soon •••• 101 The relationship of Mccants Stewart with Mrs. Washington was very much like a IOOther and a son. Mrs. Washington concerned herself with students, and was often a buffer between Mr. Washington, the Council and the students. From the Crawford House, Boston, Massachusetts, in July 1895, Mrs. Washington wrote Stewart, as follows: Dear Mack:- You can not know how glad I am to get your letter' It was sent to me this IOOrning fran Aberdeen Miss. It has been a long time on the road but I am just as glad to get it. I know that it was hard for you to give Chris. up but I hope that you will be sure to write to him every week for if you do not you will be sure to grow apart and this I hope will never be. I am now here with Mr. Washington who seems to need me IOOre than any body else just now. I do hope that you are going to come out alright at the close of the surrmer. Mr. Calloway is not a strict man but you must not take advantage of this goodness. It is often best to be strict with boys of your age but I sup pose you think that I ought now to say young men of age. I shall be in Tuskegee before very long. I am very tired. I can not tell what. has made me so but I am. Be sure to look out for Mack. I am writing on the Type this summer and I hope to some day get a position at the school.1l1 During his student days at Tuskegee Institute, Stewart was enrolled in its Music School specializing in piano and voice, but his main interest was debate. 12/ During one competition, Stewart, a skilled debater, and his -5- debate partner, E.D. Lankford, were paired against J.A. Lankford and John W. Robins" on on the resolve that men of thought have done more for the world than men of action. Messrs. Stewart and Whitehead, for the affirmative, prevailed over Messrs. Lankford and Robinson, who argued the negs. tiv e. The Tuskegee Student newspaper. singled out Stewart's argument, stating that "from the very beginning, it electrified the whole audience.fllal Mccants Stewart was graduated from Tuskegee Institute in 1896.141 In the same year, The Tuskegee Student did an update on the whereabouts and the progress of its graduates. Referring to McCants Stewart, the newspaper reported that he was "now in his father's law office at his home in N.Y"151 and enrolled as a law student at New York University Law School. Stewart also reported, lithe trouble of the whole thing is, it takes education of the head - no hand and heart in it, "161 a statement that might have been a critical reference to the philosophy of Tuskegee Institute's emphasis on industrial training. Nevertheless, The Tuskegee Student wrote that "despit e this fact [McCants Stewart] will succeed."171 DAYS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNEOOTA LAW SCHOOL I While the focus on this paper is on the contributions of Mccants ill I, \(:I"I!I ,:\, '! Stewart, two other Afro-Americans associated with the University of Minnesota l;,t,.:i I ~ are relevant to Stewart because they were the first to integrate the H'. Uni versit y of Minnesota and its law school. The first Afro-American to be l~ graduated from the Un1 versit y of Minnesota was Andrew Franklin Hilyer. Hilyer was graduated in 1882 from the College of Science, Literature and the Arts.ill In 1894 John Frank Wheaton, who first studied law at Howard University School of Law was graduated from the University of Minnesota Law School in 1894.~ Wheaton holds the distinction of being the first Afro- -6- American to be grapuated from the University of Minnesota Law School. Thus, with the graduation of Hilyer from the undergraduate level and Wheaton from the law school, the stage was 'set at the University of Minnesota for other Afro-Americans like Mccants Stewart to receive an education at the state university. Mccants Stewart was admitted to the New York University School of Law in the Fall of 1896. However, he remained there for only one year, transferring to the University of Minnesota Law School in 1897 then under the leadership of its first dean, William S. Pattee. It is not known why Stewart transferred to the University of Minnesota Law School. It might have been because his father left New York and went to Honolulu, Hawaii, to practice law,~ or to join his classmate and good friend, Jay Moses Griffin, who was admitted in the Uni versit y of Minnesota Law School after being graduated from Tuskegee Institute in 1896.~ It appears that Jay Moses Griffin was the second Afro-American student admitted to the law school in 1896, followed by McCants Stewart in 1897 and Joseph C. Reid in 1898. 22/ Hence, two Tuskegee Institute graduates from the class of 1896 helped to integrate the University of Minnesota Law School. Except for an illness requiring Mr. Griffin to withdraw from the law school during his senior year and go to Mexico to convalesce,~ he would have shared the honor held by Mccants Stewart as one of the second Afro-American graduates of the University of Minnesota Law School.~ Griffin returned to the law school the following year and received his law degree in 1900.~ Stewart was an active law student. He participated in the Kent Debate Society, one of several debs.. te societies. One of their roost competi tiv e rivals was the Minerva Debating Society, composed of women law students.~ - 7- McCants Stewart w~ well respected by his classmates, as he was elected secretary of the senior class,~ and Sheriff of the Moot Court. The Sheriff officiated during all Moot Court sessions at the law school.~ In his senior year, Stewart was recruited to act as business manager for the Twin-City American, a black newspaper, by his friend, Jay Moses Griffin.~ He served as business manager and associate editor. While a stUdent at the law school, Mccants Stewart was discriminated against by a local restaurant on Central Avenue, who refused to serve h~ a meal. The restaurant owner told Stewart that he employed "such as you to clean my backyard. tt~ This conduct was observed by several patrons in the restaurant who left their names with Stewart, who filed an administrative complaint with the City Attorney's Office in Minneapolis under a civil rights law passed in 1897 by the state legislature. After an investigation, the Assistant City Attorney filed a lawsuit against the restaurant owner, John Flangstad.~ He was charged with violating the civil rights of Stewart. Flangstad claimed that his business suffered when he served "colored people." In fact, it was reported that Flangstad's restaurant "used to feed colored men ••• but when the colored people conmenced to co~ in large nwnbers, his white customers dropped off, and then when he made objections to the colored men, they also quit, and be was left without any patronage."~ This explanation did not receive a kind reception by a jury of 12 Minneapolis citizens who found Mr. F1angstad guilty of violating Mccants Stewart's civil rights.~ Mccants Stewart was not totally isolated from the Afro-American bar in Minnesota. There were at least three lawyers of Afro-American descent in St. Paul or Minneapolis during his law school tenure; namely, Frederick L. -8- McGhee, John Frank Wheaton and William Richard Morris, all exceptionally fine and respected members of the Minnesota bar. No doubt those lawyers knew or knew of Stewart's father, T. McCants Stewart, who by that time had made a national reputation for b~elf.~ History was ·made again at the University of Minnesota on June 2, 1899, when McCants Stewart became the second Afro-American graduate of the law school, which was established in l888,~ and the third Afro-American to receive a degree from the University of Minnesota chartered in 1851. Three hundred· students were graduated from the various academic departments in JWle, 1899.2 E./ The graduation of Mccants Stewart from the University of Minnesota School of Law School, indeed from the University itself, was not an event that drew members of his race to the commencement exercises, a point noted by The Colored Citizen. Stewart's historic graduation prompted The Colored Citizen to chide Afro-Americans "to look forward to the power of higher education that the race mdght stand equal with other races in social environ- "w ments •••• The article continued, Our failure to attend the commencement at our own state university bas proved the conceptive opinion of the white American to be correct. '!be Negro who is looking forward to self-aggrandizement for the purpose of personal gain cannot appreciate people who struggle for higher education. Not until the for:midable foe of human obstacles have been con quered by the toiling student, will encouragement come from his own. But to encourage higher edu cation am:mg our own, when the value is of any ~portance, it must be done in the very inception of the student's inclination, to cultivate the highest talents predominant in the human mind.~ Mccants Stewart remained in Minneapolis for at least three years after being graduated from law school. Admi tted to the bar by the Minnesota SUpreIOO Court on June 2, 1899, Stew~t practiced law in Minneapolis fran 1899 -9- , to 1900. Between 1899 and 1901, it is likely that Stewart continued to work as an agent for The Twin- City American, the local Afro-American newspaper to earn money to canplete the requirements of the LL.M. degree from the Uni versit y of Minnesota Law School, which he did in 1901. 391 During this period, Stewart was also courting his future Wife, Mary Delia Weir, who also attended the University of Minnesota. While the exact departure date of Stewart to Portland, Oregon, or even why he selected Portland as his new residence is unknown Stewart remained active in the Mlnnepo1is Minnesota, J J community until 1903. For example, in 1901 the Bethesda Baptist Church in Minneapolis sponsored a debate on the question: "Resolved, that the industrial and social independence of the American Negro can best be maintaineQ by establishing a Negro Cbmmonwealth within the bounds of the United States."4QI Arguing for the affirmative was J. S. Wright, a graduate of Eckstein-Norton University of Kentucky and Harvey Burke, a graduate of Wilberforce University. Arguing for the negative was McCants Stewart and Joseph C. Reid, both recent graduates of the law school. One of the three judges was William R. Morris. When the judges ruled for the affirmative, the audience "dissented, thereby causing the judges to explain that they were deciding on the merits of the debate, not on the right or wrong of the question."411 Days as a Lawyer in Portland, Dregon McCants Stewart, about 25 years old, arrived in Portland, Oregon, in 1903 and made application to be admitted to the bar in Oregon. The Oregon Daily Journal, apparently unaware that Stewart was the second graduate of the University of Minnesota Law School, wrote that "Stewart is the only colored law graduate of the Uni versit y of Minnesota • • • There has never