[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 102 (Friday, July 28, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1595-E1596]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       IN TRIBUTE TO CORA WALKER: LAWYER WHO BROKE RACIAL GROUND

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. CHARLES B. RANGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, July 28, 2006

  Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Cora Walker, 
a just woman whose sincere determination and resolve not only helped 
change the way law became practiced in New York but also helped 
diversify its practitioners. Ms. Cora Walker who is recognized as being 
one of the first black women to practice law in the state of New York, 
succumbed to cancer at her Manhattan home on July 20, 2006. As a living 
example of an individual who defied the odds, Ms. Walker walked the 
path less traveled, opening it up for many others to follow.
  Born in Charlotte in 1922, to William and Benetta Jones Walker, Ms. 
Walker was one of 9 children. Ms. Walker's family, at that time like 
most Southern families, wanted a life beyond the laws of segregation 
and Jim Crow. Their search for the American dream carried them to the 
Bronx. The new life in New York, however, brought unexpected changes, 
the biggest one being the sudden divorce of her parents. The separation 
of her parents, created a financial burden for the entire family

[[Page E1596]]

leaving her mother and her siblings dependent on public assistance. 
Although this incident proved to be tragic, just like the saying goes, 
``only the most beautiful flowers bloom in adversity,'' Ms. Walker 
emerged from this hardship as the main provider and supporter of the 
family, eventually getting her family off of welfare.
  Ms. Walker earned her bachelors degree and law degree in a special 6-
year program in which students earned both a bachelors and law degree. 
She is recognized as being the first African-American woman to graduate 
from the St. John's University School of Law in 1946. Recognizing the 
disparity between the number of black and white lawyers, Ms. Walker 
spent much of her career working for the National Bar Association, the 
organization of Black lawyers formed to support the advancement of 
Blacks in the progression and helped found the Associations Counsel 
Conference, an annual meeting that helped black lawyers cultivate 
relationships with corporate clients. It is through her work within 
this organization and others that gave her the skills to become the 
first woman to serve as president of the Harlem Lawyers Association.
  Although she was admitted to the Bar in 1947, the color of her skin 
still proved to be the only measure being used to judge her 
capabilities and worth. A woman who defied so many odds, who found the 
self-will within, to do the unthinkable, whose courage should have been 
commended, was still black. Sadly, the only position offered to her was 
the position to be the firms' secretary. Unwilling to write the story 
of a woman who came, fought the great battle and lost, she decided to 
re-write history with her own thoughts utilizing her own gifts.
  Her efforts culminated in the establishment of her own firm. Although 
she ran unsuccessfully for the New York Senate in 1958 and 1964, she 
was recognized at that time as being one of the most powerful leaders 
in Harlem. Her legacy rings true even today. Not only does the African 
American community mourn her loss, but all the lives she touched by 
being a symbol for justice everywhere as well feel her loss.
  I enter into the Congressional Record the obituary published in the 
New York Times on July 24, 2006. She has truly left her mark on our 
society and she will always be remembered for that. As the percentages 
of African American lawyers continue to increase across the country, we 
must acknowledge the pioneers whose contributions to justice and 
equality made the opportunities we have today a reality.

                [From the New York Times, July 20, 2006]

         Cora Walker, 84, Dies; Lawyer Who Broke Racial Ground

                           (By Margalit Fox)

       Cora T. Walker, a prominent New York lawyer who nearly 60 
     years ago became one of the first black women to practice law 
     in the state, died last Thursday at her home in Manhattan. 
     She was 84.
       The cause was cancer, said her son Lawrence R. Bailey Jr., 
     a lawyer, who practiced with his mother for many years.
       For decades, Ms. Walker ran a private practice in Harlem, 
     first on 125th Street and later from a restored brownstone at 
     270 Lenox Avenue. From 1976 until her retirement in 1999, she 
     was the senior partner in Walker & Bailey, one of the city's 
     few black law firms, which she established with her son.
       The firm's practice eventually included corporate clients 
     like Conrail, the Ford Motor Company, Texas Instruments and 
     Kentucky Fried Chicken. But Ms. Walker continued drawing up 
     wills and preparing personal-injury claims for the men and 
     women she described as the ``plain, ordinary, not elegant 
     people'' of her Harlem community.
       Active in Republican politics, Ms. Walker ran 
     unsuccessfully for the New York State Senate in 1958 and 
     1964. In 1970, The New York Times included her--the only 
     woman--on a list of the most powerful leaders in Harlem.
       Cora Thomasina Walker was born on June 20, 1922, in 
     Charlotte, N.C., one of nine children of William and Benetta 
     Jones Walker. The family moved to the Bronx when she was a 
     child. When she was an adolescent, her parents separated, 
     leaving her, her mother and her siblings dependent on public 
     assistance.
       After graduating from James Monroe High School in the 
     Bronx, Ms. Walker promptly informed the Welfare Department 
     that their help was no longer required: she would support the 
     family. She took a night job as a teletype operator with 
     Western Union and also sold Christmas cards.
       At the same time, Ms. Walker was enrolled at St. John's 
     University, then in Brooklyn, in a special six-year program 
     in which students earned both a bachelor's degree and a law 
     degree. She received a bachelor's degree in accounting from 
     St. John's in 1945 and a law degree the next year.
       For much of her career, Ms. Walker was active in the 
     National Bar Association, a historically black organization. 
     She helped found the association's Corporate Counsel 
     Conference, an annual meeting sponsored by its commercial law 
     section. Begun in 1988, the conference helps black lawyers 
     cultivate relationships with corporate clients.
       In the 1960s, Ms. Walker became the first woman to serve as 
     president of the Harlem Lawyers Association.
       Ms. Walker's marriage, to Lawrence R. Bailey Sr., a lawyer, 
     ended in divorce. In addition to her son Lawrence Jr., of the 
     Bronx, she is survived by another son, Bruce E. Bailey, a 
     physician, of Norwich, Conn.; a sister, Danetta Black, 
     formerly of White Plains; and three grandchildren.
       In 1947, when Ms. Walker was admitted to the New York bar, 
     she found the doors of the city's law firms tightly shut. 
     (One firm relented and offered her a position--as a 
     secretary.) So she struck out on her own.
       Her first client was an undertaker, for whom she did 
     collections. Before long, by dint of reading self-improvement 
     books, Ms. Walker had learned to ``join everything, give 
     everybody a card, join a political club,'' as she told The 
     New York Times in 1989.
       In 1999, the New York County Lawyers' Association installed 
     a plaque outside the Lenox Avenue brownstone where Ms. Walker 
     had her office, commemorating her half-century in the law. 
     The building has since been sold, her son said, and the 
     plaque is now gone.

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