Anderson in 1977

Reuben V. Anderson (born 1943) is an American attorney who served as a justice of the Mississippi Supreme Court from 1985 to 1990.

Early life

Anderson was born in 1943, in Jackson, Mississippi. His father was a bricklayer, and his great-great-grandparents were slaves. He graduated from Tougaloo College in 1965. He received his law degree in 1967, from the University of Mississippi, a mere five years after it admitted its first black student, James Meredith, and four years after it admitted its first black law student.[1]

Career

Anderson first worked as a civil right lawyer, in the firm Anderson, Banks, Nichols & Leventhal, from 1967 to 1977, where he was the assistant counsel for the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund in the Mississippi office. Anderson was appointed to the Jackson Municipal Court, where he served two years. He then spent four years as a Hinds County Court Judge. Next, for three years, Anderson was a judge on the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals. In 1985 Anderson was appointed to the State Supreme Court, becoming the first black judge on that court.[2][3][4] Following his resignation, Anderson was succeeded on the court by Fred L. Banks Jr.[5]

In July 2020, Anderson was appointed to a special commission tasked with presenting a new design for the Flag of Mississippi to voters for their approval.[6] The nine-person commission elected Anderson as its chairman at its first meeting on July 22.[7]

Family

Anderson's wife is the former Phyllis Wright. They have three children, Roslyn V. Anderson, Vincent R Anderson, and Raina Anderson-Minor.[3]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "The Black Students Who Followed in the Footsteps of James Meredith at Ole Miss – ProQuest". The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education 66. 2009. pp. 58–63. Retrieved 2015-05-26.
  2. ↑ Hillinger, Charles (27 March 1988). "A Jurist With a Long Career of Firsts : Anderson 1st Black to Sit on Mississippi High Court". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 2, 2016.
  3. 1 2 "Collins Speaker Series: Reuben V. Anderson » Mississippi State University Libraries". lib.msstate.edu. Archived from the original on 2015-09-15.
  4. ↑ "Homepage | Phelps Dunbar LLC".
  5. ↑ Leslie Southwick, Mississippi Supreme Court Elections: A Historical Perspective 1916-1996, 18 Miss. C. L. Rev. 115 (1997-1998).
  6. ↑ Ramseth, Luke (16 July 2020). "Six commission members selected to design new Mississippi flag". Clarion Ledger. Retrieved 18 July 2020.
  7. ↑ Ulmer, Sarah (July 22, 2020). State Flag Commission holds first meeting in Jackson Y'all Politics. Retrieved September 10, 2020.
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