[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 111 (Tuesday, July 27, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1440]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       HONORING GEORGE B. VASHON

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. PATRICK J. MURPHY

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 27, 2010

  Mr. PATRICK J. MURPHY of Pennsylvania. Madam Speaker, I rise today to 
honor George B. Vashon, a 19th century Pennsylvanian who distinguished 
himself as an African-American educator, abolitionist, poet, and 
activist, and who earlier this year was posthumously admitted to the 
bar 163 years after he first tried to break this barrier. Vashon was 
born in Carlisle, PA in 1824 and raised in Pittsburgh, the son of John 
B. Vashon, a leading anti-slavery crusader, businessman, and veteran of 
the War of 1812. Both John and George Vashon were active in the western 
Pennsylvania abolitionist efforts of the time, helping escaped slaves 
on the Underground Railroad and organizing Pittsburgh's black community 
in several anti-slavery gatherings. Frederick Douglass, William Lloyd 
Garrison, and Martin Delany were among the Vashons' closest associates 
and family friends.
  Growing up as a student of the abolitionist crusade, George B. Vashon 
became the first black American to graduate from Oberlin College and 
soon turned his focus toward the law as the means by which he would 
effect change. In 1847, after studying under the Honorable Judge Walter 
Forward, later a U.S. Treasury Secretary, George Vashon applied for 
admission to the Pennsylvania bar but was denied because of his race. 
In 1838, a revision of Pennsylvania's constitution restricted the 
practice of law to white men. Shortly after he was turned down in 
Pennsylvania, Vashon applied for and passed the New York bar and became 
the first black lawyer in that state, where he later went on to become 
the first black person to run for office in New York. Vashon would 
later also be admitted to the bar of the U.S. Supreme Court. After he 
gained this achievement, he again sought admission to the Pennsylvania 
bar, but was denied for a second time.
  George B. Vashon's career was mostly spent in education: as one of 
the first black college professors in this country, an official in 
Pittsburgh's public school system, a founder and the first black 
professor at Howard University, and the President of Avery College in 
Pennsylvania. He helped lead many anti-slavery conventions, was active 
in the lobbying efforts to pass the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments to 
the Constitution, and was a contributor to Frederick Douglass' 
newspaper, The North Star.
  Madam Speaker, George Vashon's life was dedicated to bringing 
equality to African Americans and he broke many barriers in trying to 
do so. Not surprisingly, however, he also faced significant 
discrimination and his being denied admission to the Pennsylvania bar 
thwarted his hopes of practicing law in his home state. His many 
accomplishments and lifework are inspiring and continue to stand as 
impressive for a person of any color.
  In an attempt to remedy what was denied George B. Vashon in his 
lifetime, his great grandson Nolan Atkinson, a prominent Philadelphia 
attorney and constituent of mine, was joined by his nephew and Vashon's 
great, great grandson, Paul Thornell, in petitioning the Supreme Court 
of Pennsylvania on behalf of their ancestor. On May 4, the Pennsylvania 
Supreme Court righted a wrong in the history books when it posthumously 
admitted Vashon to the Pennsylvania bar. In doing so, the Court issued 
the following order: ``In acknowledgement of Mr. Vashon's credentials 
and achievements, this Court hereby admits George B. Vashon to the 
practice of law in the Courts of this Commonwealth posthumously.''
  Madam Speaker, I am pleased to share this notable achievement of an 
outstanding, if lesser-known American--George B. Vashon. It is also a 
privilege to recognize the important efforts that resulted in his 
becoming the first African American to gain admission to legal practice 
in Pennsylvania.

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