We at the Society were honored to be asked to participate as a sponsor in the webinar Invisible No More: The Eunice Carter Story, to collaborate with The Franklin H. Williams Judicial Commission and Office of Court Administration’s Office of Diversity & Inclusion. This program told the story of Eunice Carter, Esq., a remarkable woman who became the first African American woman Assistant District Attorney in NYS in the 1930s.
Her life and career were highlighted by her grandson Prof. Stephen L. Carter and great-granddaughter Leah Aird Carter, Esq., author and principal researcher of Invisible: The Forgotten Story of the Black Woman Lawyer Who Took Down America’s Most Powerful Mobster, respectively.
Following the Carters’ presentation, a panel discussion, featuring Society Trustee & Vice-Chair Hon. Dianne T. Renwick, her fellow First Department Justice Hon. Troy K. Webber, and Ms. Carter, was moderated by Hon. Rowan D. Wilson. The panelists addressed some of the challenges that African American women faced in Eunice Carter’s time, as well as what has changed since her time and the challenges that persist today.
The program was moderated by OCA Counsel Eileen D. Millett, Esq., and featured remarks from Chief Judge Janet DiFiore, Hon. Jonathan Lippman, Fordham School of Law Dean Matthew Diller, and NY County District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., who rededicated Eunice Carter’s plaque at the Manhattan DA’s Office.
Conversations of systemic bias and injustice in NYS legal history and in the present day bench and bar are important. We look forward to creating Society programming that will delve more into these critical issues.