William H.

Hastie
William Henry Hastie Jr. (November 17, 1904 –
April 14, 1976) was an American lawyer, judge, William Hastie
educator, public official, and civil rights advocate. He
was the first African American to serve as Governor of
the United States Virgin Islands, as a federal judge,[1]
and as a federal appellate judge.[2] He served as a
United States circuit judge of the United States Court
of Appeals for the Third Circuit and previously served
as District Judge of the District Court of the Virgin
Islands.

Early life and education

Hastie was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, the son of
Senior Judge of the United States Court of
William Henry Hastie, Sr. and Roberta Childs.[3] His Appeals for the Third Circuit
maternal ancestors were African American and Native In office
American, but European American is also a strong May 31, 1971 – April 14, 1976
possible mix. Family tradition held that one female
Judge of the United States Court of
ancestor was a Malagasy princess.[4] He graduated Appeals for the Third Circuit
from Dunbar High School, a top academic school for In office
black students. October 21, 1949 – May 31, 1971

Hastie attended Amherst College in Massachusetts, Appointed by Harry S. Truman

where he graduated first in his class, magna cum laude, Preceded by Seat established
and Phi Beta Kappa, receiving a Bachelor of Arts Succeeded by James Rosen
degree.[5] While in college, Hastie was initiated into
Governor of the United States Virgin
Omega Psi Phi fraternity.[6] He received a Bachelor of Islands
Laws from Harvard Law School in 1930, followed by
In office
a Doctor of Juridical Science from the same institution
May 17, 1946 – October 21, 1949
in 1933.[7]
Preceded by Charles Harwood
Succeeded by Morris Fidanque de Castro
Career Judge of the United States District Court of
the Virgin Islands
In office
Legal work March 26, 1937 – July 1, 1939
Appointed by Franklin D. Roosevelt
Hastie entered the private practice of law in
Washington, D.C. from 1930 to 1933.[7] From 1933 to Preceded by George Philip Jones
1937 he served as assistant solicitor for the United Succeeded by Herman Moore
Personal details
States Department of the Interior,[7] advising the Born William Henry Hastie Jr.
agency on racial issues. He had worked with his November 17, 1904
second cousin, Charles Hamilton Houston, to establish Knoxville, Tennessee, U.S.
a joint law practice.[8] Died April 14, 1976 (aged 71)
East Norriton Township,
In 1937, President Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed
Pennsylvania, U.S.
Hastie to the District Court of the Virgin Islands,[9]
Political party Democratic
making Hastie the first African-American federal
judge.[5] This was a controversial action; Democratic Relations Charles Hamilton Houston
United States Senator William H. King of Utah, the (cousin)
Chairman of the United States Senate Committee on Education Amherst College (BA)
the Judiciary called Hastie's appointment a "blunder." Harvard University (LLB,
King opposed any nominee who supported Black SJD)
equality.[10]

In 1939, Hastie resigned from the court to become the Dean of the
Howard University School of Law, where he had previously
taught.[2] One of his students was Thurgood Marshall, who led the
Legal Defense Fund for the NAACP and was appointed as a
United States Supreme Court Justice.

Hastie served as a co-lead lawyer with Thurgood Marshall in the

voting rights case of Smith v. Allwright, 321 U.S. 649 (1944) in
which the Supreme Court ruled against white primaries.[11] One of
Houston's sons became a name partner at the law firm.
Poster of Hastie from the United
States Office of War Information,
World War II Domestic Operations Branch, News
During World War II, Hastie worked as a civilian aide to the Bureau, in 1943
United States Secretary of War Henry Stimson from 1940 to
1942.[7] He vigorously advocated the equal treatment of African
Americans in the United States Army and their unrestricted use in the war effort.[12]

On January 15, 1943, Hastie resigned his position in protest against racially segregated training facilities
in the United States Army Air Forces, inadequate training for African-American pilots, and the unequal
distribution of assignments between whites and non-whites.[12] That same year, he received the Spingarn
Medal from the NAACP, both for his lifetime achievements and in recognition of this protest action.[13]

In 1946, President Harry S. Truman appointed Hastie as Territorial Governor of the United States Virgin
Islands.[7] He was the first African American to hold this position. Hastie served as governor from 1946
to 1949.[7]

Federal judicial service

Hastie received a recess appointment from President Harry S. Truman on October 21, 1949, to the United
States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, to a new seat authorized by 63 Stat. 493, becoming the first
African-American federal appellate judge. He was nominated to the same position by President Truman
on January 5, 1950. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on July 19, 1950, and received his
commission on July 22, 1950. He served as Chief officer as a member of the Judicial Conference of the
United States from 1968 to 1971. He assumed senior status on May 31, 1971. He was a Judge of the
Temporary Emergency Court of Appeals from 1972 to 1976. His service terminated on April 14, 1976,
when he died in Philadelphia while he was playing golf.[7][14]

Supreme Court consideration

As the first African American on the Federal bench, Hastie was considered as a possible candidate to be
the first African-American Justice of the Supreme Court. In an interview with Robert Penn Warren for the
book Who Speaks for the Negro?, Hastie commented that as a judge, he had not been able to be "out in
the hustings, and to personally sample grassroots reaction" but that for the Civil Rights Movement to
succeed, both class and race must be considered.[15]

In 1962, President John F. Kennedy considered appointing Hastie to succeed retiring Justice Charles
Whittaker.[16] But due to political calculations he did not do so, as he believed that an African-American
appointee would have faced fierce opposition in the United States Senate from Southerners such as James
Eastland (D-Mississippi), the chairman of the Judiciary Committee. Conversely, on issues other than civil
rights, Hastie was considered relatively moderate, and Chief Justice Earl Warren was reportedly
"violently opposed" to Hastie, as he would be too conservative as a justice.[16] Justice William O.
Douglas reportedly told Robert F. Kennedy that Hastie would be "just one more vote for Frankfurter."[16]
Kennedy appointed Byron White instead.

Kennedy said that he expected to make several more appointments to the Supreme Court in his
presidency and that he intended to appoint Hastie to the Court at a later date.[17]

Legacy
Hastie was an elected member of both the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American
Philosophical Society.[18][19] The Third Circuit Library in Philadelphia is named in Hastie's honor.[20] A
permanent memorial room in his honor is hosted by The Beck Cultural Exchange Center in Knoxville,
Tennessee, which also houses his personal papers.[21] In addition, an urban natural area in South
Knoxville is named in his honor.[22]

In terms of African-American history, Hastie developed from a youthful radical to a scholarly, calm,
almost aloof jurist. He said the judge always ought to be in the middle, for his basic responsibility "is to
maintain neutrality while giving the best objective judgment of the contest between adversaries." He
served as major influence for many lawyers and jurists, Judge Solomon Oliver Jr. was among those who
clerked for him, and cites Hastie as his greatest influence. As a scion of an elite black family, he reflected
its integrationist viewpoint. He said, "The Negro lawyer has played and continues to play, a very
important role in the American Negro's struggle for equality."[23] When he resigned as the top aide on
racial matters to the War Department in 1943, he said it was caused by "reactionary policies and
discriminatory practices in the Army and Air Forces."[24]
Hastie's daughter, Karen Hastie Williams, was a prominent lawyer, and the first woman of colour
appointed clerk to a U.S. Supreme Court Justice.[25]

See also
John F. Kennedy Supreme Court candidates
List of African-American jurists
List of African-American federal judges
List of first minority male lawyers and judges in the United States

References
1. "History of the Federal Judiciary: First African American Judges" ([Link]
[Link]/page/judges_milestones.html), Federal Judicial Center
2. Hastie, William H. (1972-01-05). "Truman Library – Judge William H. Hastie Oral History
Interview" ([Link] (Transcript). Interviewed by
Jerry N. Hess. Retrieved 2013-03-01.
3. Vile, John R. (2001). Great American lawyers: an encyclopedia. Vol. 1. Santa Barbara, Calif:
ABC-CLIO. ISBN 1576072029.
4. Childs, John Brown (1999). "Red Clay, Blue Hills: In Honor of My Ancestors" ([Link]
org/details/readingsfordiver0000unse/page/110). In Maurianne Adams; Rosie Castaneda;
Madeline L. Peters; Ximena Zuniga; Warren J. Blumenfeld (eds.). Social Justice : An
Anthology on Racism, Sexism, Anti-Semitism, Heterosexism, Classism, and Ableism (1 ed.).
New York; London: Routledge. pp. 110–113 ([Link]
unse/page/110). ISBN 0415926335.
5. Wynn, Linda T.; Bobby L. Lovett (1995-12-15). "William Henry Hastie (1904–1976)" ([Link]
[Link]/library/digital/[Link]). In Linda T. Wynn; Gayle Brinkley-Johnson (eds.). A
Profile of African Americans in Tennessee History. Annual Local Conference on Afro-
American Culture and History. Nashville, US: Tennessee State University Library. Retrieved
2013-03-01.
6. "Official Website of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc" ([Link]
3612/[Link] 2008-02-02. Archived from the original ([Link]
[Link]/[Link]) on 2008-02-02. Retrieved 2020-06-10.
7. "Hastie, William Henry – Federal Judicial Center" ([Link]
william-henry). [Link].
8. "William H. Hastie 1904–1976" ([Link]
cles/historians-miscellaneous-biographies/william-henry-hastie). [Link]. May 1,
2020. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
9. "[USC04] 18 USC 23: Court of the United States defined" ([Link]
ml?req=%22District+Court+of+the+Virgin+Islands%22&f=treesort&fq=true&num=13&hl=true
&edition=prelim&granuleId=USC-prelim-title18-section23). [Link].
10. Watts, Jill (2020). The Black Cabinet: The Untold Story of African Americans and Politics
During the Age of Roosevelt. New York: Grove Press. p. 239. ISBN 978-0-8021-4866-7.
11. "SMITH v. ALLWRIGHT, 321 U.S. 649 (1944) | FindLaw" ([Link]
s-supreme-court/321/[Link]). [Link].
12. James, Rawn (2013-01-22). The Double V: How Wars, Protest, and Harry Truman
Desegregated America's Military ([Link]
(1 ed.). New York: Bloomsbury Press. ISBN 978-1608196081.
13. "Spingarn Medal" ([Link] Encyclopædia
Britannica. Retrieved 2020-06-10.
14. "Judge Hastie, First Black Federal Jurist, Dead at 71" ([Link]
sADAAAAMBAJ&q=william+hastie+golf&pg=PA6). Jet. Vol. 50, no. 6. Johnson Publishing
Company. 1976-04-29. p. 6.
15. Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities. "William Hastie, Jr" ([Link]
[Link]/interview/william-hastie). Robert Penn Warren's Who Speaks for the
Negro? Archive. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
16. Hutchinson, Dennis J. "The Ideal New Frontier Judge" – The Supreme Court Review Vol.
1997 (1997). p. 379.
17. Schlesinger, Arthur Meier (2002). A Thousand Days: John F. Kennedy in the White House (h
ttps://[Link]/books?id=uFhNxX5lrNEC&q=hastie) (1st Mariner Books ed.).
Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN 978-0618219278.
18. "William Henry Hastie" ([Link] American
Academy of Arts & Sciences. Retrieved 2022-08-22.
19. "APS Member History" ([Link]
Hastie&title=&subject=&subdiv=&mem=&year=&year-max=&dead=&keyword=&smode=adv
anced). [Link]. Retrieved 2022-08-22.
20. See Circuit Libraries ([Link]
21. See [Link]/online-tour ([Link]
22. See William Hastie Natural Area ([Link]
-hastie-natural-area)
23. Bruce M. Stave, "Hastie. William Henry" in John A. Garraty, ed., Encyclopedia of American
Biography (1974) p 498.
24. Stave, 1974.
25. Risen, Clay (2021-08-08). "Karen Hastie Williams, Barrier-Breaking Lawyer, Dies at 76" (http
s://[Link]/2021/08/08/obituaries/[Link]). The New York
Times. ISSN 0362-4331 ([Link] Retrieved
2022-01-28.

Sources
Childs, John Brown (2000). "Red Clay, Blue Hills: In Honor of My Ancestors" ([Link]
org/details/readingsfordiver0000unse/page/110). In Maurianne Adams; Rosie Castaneda;
Madeline L. Peters; Ximena Zuniga; Warren J. Blumenfeld (eds.). Readings for Diversity
and Social Justice : An Anthology on Racism, Sexism, Anti-Semitism, Heterosexsm,
Classism, and Ableism (1 ed.). New York; London: Routledge. pp. 110–113 ([Link]
rg/details/readingsfordiver0000unse/page/110). ISBN 0415926335.
Associated Press (1937-03-02). "Hastie's Selection Termed 'Blunder' ". The Washington
Post. p. 17.
Negro Soldiers Defended. New York Times. Oct 4, 1941. p. 14, 1 p
Army Aide Quits; Protests Negro Pilot Treatment. Chicago Daily Tribune. Feb 1, 1943. p. 21,
1p
Hastie Nominated For Governorship Of Virgin Islands. The Washington Post. Jan 6, 1946.
p. M1, 2 pp
"Federal Judge Dies; Slave's Grandson" ([Link]
[Link]/latimes/access/[Link]?FMT=CITE&FMTS=CITE:AI&type=histori
c&date=Apr+15,+1976&author=&pub=Los+Angeles+Times+(1923-Current+File)&edition=&s
tartpage=8&desc=FEDERAL+JUDGE+DIES;+SLAVE'S+GRANDSON). Los Angeles Times.
1976-04-15. p. 8. ISSN 0362-4331 ([Link] Archived
 from the original ([Link]
&FMTS=CITE:AI&type=historic&date=Apr+15%2C+1976&author=&pub=Los+Angeles+Time
s+%281923-Current+File%29&edition=&startpage=8&desc=FEDERAL+JUDGE+DIES%3B
+SLAVE%27S+GRANDSON) on April 11, 2013. Retrieved 2013-03-02.
"Judge William Hastie, 71, of Federal Court, Dies" ([Link]
hives/[Link]). The New York Times. 1976-04-15.
p. 36. ISSN 0362-4331 ([Link] Retrieved 2013-03-02.

External links
Part of his life is retold in the 1949 radio drama "The Boy Who Beat the Bus ([Link]
org/details/[Link]/Destination_Freedom_49-01-09_028_The_Boy_Who_Beat
_the_Bus.mp3)", a presentation from Destination Freedom, written by Richard Durham

Retrieved from "[Link]