Spottswood Robinson III

Spottswood William Robinson III

Spottswood Robinson III, a civil-rights lawyer and federal judge, was born in Richmond, Virginia.

Early life

Born in Richmond in 1916, Robinson graduated first in his Howard Law class and joined the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.

He helped argue Brown v. Board of Education and later became the first Black judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.

His meticulous legal work was central to dismantling segregation in the courts.

Robinson is remembered as both a pioneering civil-rights advocate and a distinguished jurist.

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