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{{Short description|American judge and politician (1921–2005)}}
{{Use American English|date=December 2022}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2022}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = Constance Baker Motley
| image               = Mrs. Constance B. Motley, first woman Senator, 21st Senatorial District, N.Y., raising hand in V sign.jpg
| caption             = Motley in 1964
| office              = [[Senior Judge]] of the [[United States District Court for the Southern District of New York]]
| term_start          = September 30, 1986
| term_end            = September 28, 2005
| office1             = Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
| term_start1         = May 31, 1982
| term_end1           = September 30, 1986
| predecessor1        = [[Lloyd Francis MacMahon]]
| successor1          = [[Charles L. Brieant]]
| office2             = Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
| appointer2          = [[Lyndon B. Johnson]]
| term_start2         = August 30, 1966
| term_end2           = September 30, 1986
| predecessor2        = [[Archie Owen Dawson]]
| successor2          = [[Kimba Wood]]
| office3             = [[Borough President]] of [[Manhattan]]
| term_start3         = February 23, 1965
| term_end3           = August 30, 1966
| predecessor3        = [[Edward Richard Dudley|Edward R. Dudley]]
| successor3          = [[Percy Sutton]]
| state_senate4       = New York
| district4           = 21st
| term_start4         = February 4, 1964
| term_end4           = February 23, 1965
| predecessor4        = [[James Lopez Watson]]
| successor4          = [[Jeremiah B. Bloom]]
| birth_name          = Constance Baker
| birth_date          = {{birth date|1921|9|14}}
| birth_place         = [[New Haven, Connecticut]], U.S.
| death_date          = {{nowrap|{{death date and age|2005|9|28|1921|9|14}}}}
| death_place         = New York City, U.S.
| party               = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
| spouse              = {{marriage|Joel Motley Jr.|1946}}
| children            = 1
| education           = {{ubl|[[New York University]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])|[[Columbia University]] ([[Bachelor of Laws|LLB]])}}
}}
'''Constance Baker Motley''' ({{nee}} '''Baker'''; September 14, 1921 – September 28, 2005) was an American jurist and politician who served as a Judge of the [[United States District Court for the Southern District of New York]].

A key strategist of the [[civil rights movement]], she was [[New York State Senate|state senator]], and [[Borough President]] of [[Manhattan]] in New York City before becoming a [[United States federal judge]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=MacLean|first=Nancy|date=July 1, 2002|title=Using the Law for Social Change: Judge Constance Baker Motley|url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/17458|journal=Journal of Women's History|language=en|volume=14|issue=2|pages=136–139|doi=10.1353/jowh.2002.0048|s2cid=144084950|issn=1527-2036|url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref name=":1">"U.S. Courts: Constance Baker Motley – Judiciary's Unsung Rights Hero." ''Targeted News Service'', February 21, 2020''.''</ref> She obtained a role with the [[NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund]] as a staff attorney in 1946 after receiving her law degree, and continued her work with the organization for more than twenty years.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Roisman|first=Florence Wagman|authorlink=Florence Roisman|date=April 25, 2016|title=An Extraordinary Woman: The Honorable Constance Baker Motley|url=https://journals.iupui.edu/index.php/inlawrev/article/view/21147|journal=Indiana Law Review|volume=49|issue=3|pages=677|doi=10.18060/4806.0102|issn=2169-320X|doi-access=free}}</ref>

She was the first Black woman to argue at the Supreme Court<ref>{{Cite news|last=Hohmann|first=James|date=February 3, 2022|title=The legacy of Constance Baker Motley|page=A19|newspaper=The Washington Post|url=http://thewashingtonpost.newspaperdirect.com/epaper/viewer.aspx|access-date=February 5, 2022}}</ref> and argued 10 landmark civil rights cases, winning nine. She was a law clerk to [[Thurgood Marshall]], aiding him in the  case ''[[Brown v. Board of Education]].''<ref>{{cite web|title=Eyes on the Prize; Interview with Judge Constance Baker Motley|url=http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-151-3775t3gn95 |author=<!--Not stated--> |website=American Archive of Public Broadcasting |language=en|access-date=September 26, 2023}}</ref>

Motley was also the first [[West Indian Americans|Caribbean-American]] woman appointed to the federal judiciary, serving as a [[United States district judge]] of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.<ref name=":1" />

In 1965, Motley was elected President of the Borough of [[Manhattan]] to fill a one-year vacancy. She was the first woman to hold the office.<ref>{{Cite web|title= B.P. Gale Brewer, C. Virginia Fields, And Ruth Messinger Honor Constance Baker Motley |url=https://www.harlemworldmagazine.com/b-p-gale-brewer-c-virginia-fields-and-ruth-messinger-honor-constance-baker-motley/ |access-date=2022-12-24|website= harlemworldmagazine.com|date=June 18, 2021 |language=en-US}}</ref>
As president, she authored a revitalization plan for [[Harlem]] and [[East Harlem]], successfully fighting for $700,000 to improve these and other underserved areas of the city.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Constance Baker Motley |url=https://blackhistory.news.columbia.edu/people/constance-baker-motley|access-date=2022-12-24|website=blackhistory.news.columbia.edu|language=en-US}}</ref>

==Early life ==

Constance Baker was born on September 14, 1921, in [[New Haven, Connecticut|New Haven]], [[Connecticut]], the ninth of twelve children.<ref name=":3">"Rep. Rangel Introduces Resolution Recognizing Life, Achievements of U.S. District Court Judge." ''US Fed News Service, Including US State News'', February 28, 2007''.''</ref> Her parents, Rachel Huggins and McCullough Alva Baker,<ref name="Hines">Hines, C.D., Hines, C.W. & Harrow, S. (2011). The African American Odyssey. New Jersey: Pearson</ref> were immigrants from the Caribbean Island [[Nevis]]. Before coming to the United States, Rachel worked as a seamstress and a teacher while McCullough worked as a cobbler.<ref name="Mertes">{{Cite journal|last=Mertes|first=Tom|date=June 1, 2020|title=Charles Postel. Equality: An American Dilemma, 1866–1896 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/709614|journal=American Political Thought|volume=9|issue=3|pages=505–508|doi=10.1086/709614|s2cid=241706136 |issn=2161-1580|url-access=subscription |department=Book review}}</ref> After they immigrated, her mother served as a [[domestic worker]], and her father worked as a [[chef]] for different Yale University student societies, including the secret society [[Skull and Bones]].<ref name="Douglas">{{cite news|last=Martin|first=Douglas|title=Constance Baker Motley, 84, Civil Rights Trailblazer, Lawmaker and Judge, Dies|work=The New York Times|page=10|date=September 29, 2005|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/29/nyregion/29motley.html}}</ref> Motley describes her parents' education as being equivalent "to the tenth grade in the States".<ref name="Mertes" /> Her mother, Rachel Baker, served as a community activist. She founded the New Haven NAACP.<ref>THE, ASSOCIATED P. "NEW YORK, Constance Motley, 84, Federal Judge: [CITY Edition]." ''Newsday'', September 29, 2005, pp. A48''.''</ref>

At 15, she read works by [[James Weldon Johnson]] and [[W. E. B. Du Bois|W.E.B. DuBois]], which inspired her interest in Black history.<ref name=":2" /> She met a minister who taught classes in Black history that focused her attention on civil rights and the underrepresentation of black lawyers.<ref name=":2" />

=== Education ===
While in high school, Motley became president of the New Haven Negro Youth Council and was secretary of the New Haven Adult Community Council. In 1939, she graduated with honors from [[Hillhouse High School]]. Although she had already formed a desire to practice law, Motley lacked the means to attend college, and instead went to work for the [[National Youth Administration]]. She also continued her involvement in community activities. Through this work she encountered local businessman and philanthropist Clarence W. Blakeslee, who, after hearing Motley speak at a New Haven community center, offered to pay for her education. With his financial help, she started college at [[Fisk University]], a [[historically black college]] in [[Nashville, Tennessee|Nashville]], [[Tennessee]], but after one year, she transferred to [[New York University]], where she graduated with a [[Bachelor of Arts]] degree in [[economics]] in 1943. She received her [[Bachelor of Laws]] in 1946 from [[Columbia Law School]].<ref name="Hines" />

In October 1945, during her second year at Columbia Law School, future [[United States Supreme Court]] Associate Justice [[Thurgood Marshall]] hired her as a [[law clerk]]. She was assigned to work on [[Court-martial|court martial]] cases that were filed after [[World War II]].<ref name="Hines" />

==Civil rights work==

Motley is widely acknowledged as a major figure in the Civil Rights Movement, especially its legal battles.<ref name="Holley" /> After graduating from Columbia's Law School in 1946, she was hired by the [[NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund]] (LDF) as a civil rights lawyer. As the fund's first female attorney, she became Associate Counsel to the LDF, making her a lead trial attorney in a number of early and significant civil rights cases including representing [[Martin Luther King Jr.]], the [[Freedom Riders]], and the Birmingham Children Marchers.<ref name=":13">{{Cite web|url=https://columbialawreview.org/content/identity-matters-the-case-of-judge-constance-baker-motley/|title=Identity Matters: The Case of Judge Constance Baker Motley|website=Columbia Law Review|language=en|access-date=April 17, 2020}}</ref> She visited Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. while he sat in jail, as well as spent a night with civil rights activist [[Medgar Evers]] under armed guard.<ref name="Holley" /><ref name="Douglas" />

In 1950, she wrote the original complaint in the case of ''[[Brown v. Board of Education]]''. The first African-American woman ever to argue a case before the [[U.S. Supreme Court]], in ''[[Meredith v. Fair]]'' she won [[James Meredith]]'s effort to be the first black student to attend the [[University of Mississippi]] in 1962. Motley was successful in nine of the ten cases she argued before the Supreme Court. The tenth decision, regarding jury composition, was eventually overturned in her favor. She was otherwise a key legal strategist in the civil rights movement, helping to desegregate [[Southern United States|Southern]] schools, buses, and lunch counters.<ref name="WellesleyAthletics-TitleIX-40YearsCounting-20122">{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9Hwi_R3kmc |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211222/a9Hwi_R3kmc |archive-date=December 22, 2021 |url-status=live|title=Title IX: 40 Years and Counting: Melissa Ludtke speaks about Ludtke/Time Inc. vs. Kuhn and MLB|date=February 15, 2012|website=Wellesley Athletics|publisher=[[Wellesley College]]|format=Video}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref name="NYTimes-PridePrejudice-BakerMotley-20052">{{cite news|last1=Greene|first1=Melissa Fay|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/25/magazine/pride-and-prejudice.html|title=Pride and Prejudice: Constance Baker Motley b. 1921|date=December 25, 2005|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=October 14, 2016}}</ref>

Beyond her work with LDF, Motley continued her civil rights work as an elected official. In 1964, she was elected to the New York State Senate and devoted much of her time to advocate for housing equality for majority-Black and [[Latino (demonym)|Latino]], low-income tenants. She also endorsed urban renewal projects and looked to improve the neighborhoods in New York City that needed aid.<ref name=":13"/>

==Political and judicial firsts==
[[File:Fred Palumbo - Constance B. Motley signing papers as the newly elected Manhattan Borough President - Original.tif|thumb|Motley, newly elected as [[Manhattan Borough President]]|left]]
Motley was elected on February 4, 1964, to the [[New York State Senate]] (21st district), to fill the vacancy caused by the election of [[James Lopez Watson]] to the [[New York City Civil Court]].<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1964/02/05/archives/mrs-motley-wins-senate-seat-wrong-liberal-candidate-listed-negro.html ''MRS. MOTLEY WINS SENATE ELECTION''] in ''The New York Times'' on February 5, 1964 (subscription required)</ref> She was the first [[African American]] woman to sit in the State Senate. She took her seat in the [[174th New York State Legislature]], was re-elected in November 1964 to the [[175th New York State Legislature]], and resigned her seat when she was chosen as the first woman as [[Manhattan]] [[Borough President]] on February 23, 1965, after her predecessor was elected to a state judicial position.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1965/02/24/archives/mrs-motley-wins-manhattan-post-state-senator-elected-by-8.html ''MRS. MOTLEY WINS MANHATTAN POST''] in ''The New York Times'' on February 24, 1965 (subscription required)</ref> In November 1965, she was elected to a full four-year term. [[J. Raymond Jones]] was influential in helping her reach these positions.<ref>Constance Baker Motley, Equal justice under law: an autobiography, New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 1998. {{ISBN|0-374-14865-1}}.</ref>

==Federal judicial service==

Motley was nominated by President [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] on January 26, 1966, to a seat on the [[United States District Court for the Southern District of New York]] vacated by Judge [[Archie Owen Dawson]].<ref name="fjc.gov2">{{cite web|url=https://www.fjc.gov/history/judges/motley-constance-baker|title=Motley, Constance Baker - Federal Judicial Center|website=www.fjc.gov}}</ref> Senator [[James Eastland]] of Mississippi delayed her confirmation process for seven months. Eastland was in opposition to her past desegregation work including ''[[Brown v. Board of Education]]'' and ''Meredith v. Fair''. He used his influence as chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee to disrupt Motley's nomination, and went as far as accusing her of being a member of the Communist Party.<ref name=":13"/> Despite opposition, she was confirmed by the [[United States Senate]] on August 30, 1966, and received her commission the same day, becoming the first African American female federal judge.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1966/09/10/archives/mrs-motley-inducted-as-federal-judge-backing-for-sutton-republicans.html ''Mrs. Motley Inducted as Federal Judge''] in ''The New York Times'' on September 10, 1966 (subscription required)</ref> She served as Chief Judge from 1982 to 1986. She assumed [[senior status]] on September 30, 1986. Her service terminated on September 28, 2005, due to her death in New York City.<ref name="fjc.gov2" />

===Notable cases===

Motley was the presiding judge on the case of ''Blank v. Sullivan & Cromwell'', a landmark case for women lawyers. In ''Blank,'' the plaintiffs accused a law firm of sex discrimination.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.casebriefs.com/blog/law/civil-procedure/civil-procedure-keyed-to-babcock/discovery-civil-procedure-keyed-to-babcock/blank-v-sullivan-cromwell/|title=Blank v. Sullivan & Cromwell - Case Brief for Law Students {{!}} Casebriefs|access-date=February 22, 2020}}</ref> Due to the nature of this case and Motley's gender and race, there were calls for her to withdraw from the case assuming she would be biased. In response, she pointed to her history of impartial decisions, sometimes ruling against the plaintiff in discrimination cases.<ref name=":13"/>

In {{cite court |litigants=Belknap v. Leary |vol=427 |reporter=F.2d |opinion=496 |pinpoint= |court=2d Cir. |date=1970 |url=https://casetext.com/case/belknap-v-leary |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728224404/https://casetext.com/case/belknap-v-leary |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 28, 2020 |access-date= |quote=}}, another highly publicized case, Motley admonished the New York City police for not providing Vietnam war protesters with adequate protection against violence in the streets.<ref name="Smith">{{Cite web|title=Collection: Constance Baker Motley papers {{!}} Smith College Finding Aids|url=https://findingaids.smith.edu/repositories/2/resources/913|access-date=May 13, 2020}} {{Cc-notice|cc=by3}}</ref>

Motley ruled against the plaintiff in the case of ''Mullarkey v. Borglum'' in 1970. This case involved female tenants in New York City arguing that their male landlord was violating their First and Fourteenth Amendment rights. The defendants cited the landlord's overreach of power but failed to detail the landlord's legal failings. Motley ruled in favor of the defendant, rejecting the plaintiffs' claim of sex discrimination and going against her former advocacy for tenants during her time in the New York State Senate.<ref name=":13"/>

Motley handed down a breakthrough decision for women in sports reporting in 1978, when she ruled that a female reporter must be allowed into a [[Major League Baseball]] locker room.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.brownat50.org/brownbios/BioJudgeCBakerMotley.htm|title=Constance Baker Motley (1921-2005)|work=Brown@50 – Fulfilling the Promise|publisher=Howard University School of Law|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120717024715/http://www.brownat50.org/brownBios/BioJudgeCBakerMotley.htm|archive-date=July 17, 2012|access-date=September 14, 2012}}</ref> In ''Ludtke v. Kuhn,'' [[Melissa Ludtke]] filed a lawsuit against Bowie Kuhn, the Major League Baseball Commissioner, The American League President Leland MacPhail, and three New York City officials over the [[New York Yankees]] gendered policy forbidding female sports reporters from entering the Yankees locker room.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp/461/86/2266331/|title=Ludtke v. Kuhn, 461 F. Supp. 86 (S.D.N.Y. 1978)|website=Justia Law|language=en|access-date=March 6, 2020}}</ref>

Beyond these landmark cases, Motley’s impact on the legal field extends to her Supreme Court advocacy, where she argued ten cases before the highest court, winning nine of them. Her legal career remains a subject of study and public interest.

==Honors and awards==

Motley received a [[Candace Award]] for Distinguished Service from the [[National Coalition of 100 Black Women]] in 1984.<ref name="page3">{{cite web |website=National Coalition of 100 Black Women |title=Candace Award Recipients 1982-1990, Page 3 |url=http://www.ncbw.org/programs/award3.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030314213306/http://www.ncbw.org/programs/award3.html |archive-date=March 14, 2003 }}</ref>

In 1993, she was inducted into the [[National Women's Hall of Fame]].<ref name="Holley"/>

In 2000, [[Harvard University]] awarded her an honorary Doctor of Laws.<ref>{{Cite web |author=<!--Not stated-->  |date=June 8, 2000 |title=Eleven to receive honorary degrees at Commencement |url=https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2000/06/eleven-to-receive-honorary-degrees-at-commencement/ |access-date=May 17, 2024 |website=Harvard Gazette |language=en-US}}</ref>

In 2001, President [[Bill Clinton]] awarded her the [[Presidential Citizens Medal]].<ref name=":3" />

The NAACP awarded her the [[Spingarn Medal]], the organization's highest honor, in 2003.<ref name=":2">"Judge Constance Baker Motley to Receive 88th Spingarn Award." ''The Crisis'', vol. 110, no. 4, Jul 2003, pp. 64''.''</ref> Motley was a prominent honorary member of [[Alpha Kappa Alpha]] sorority.

In 2006, Motley posthumously received the [[Congressional Gold Medal]] from Congress for all of her accomplishments during her lifetime.<ref>"Congressional Tribute to Constance Baker Motley Act Introduced." ''US Fed News Service, Including US State News''</ref>

In 2011, she was honored posthumously with the 13th Ford Freedom Award for her accomplishments that helped disadvantaged communities.<ref>"Ford Freedom Awards Honors Judge Constance Baker Motley and Judge Damon J. Keith." ''Michigan Chronicle'',</ref>

In 2016, the [[Chester, Connecticut]] Land Trust purchased land across from her former second home. The parcel was eventually dedicated as the "Judge Constance Baker Motley Preserve". A small kiosk, picnic area, and trail are available to the public.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Motley Preserve|url=http://www.chesterlandtrust.org/motley-preserve---the-ct-freedom-trail.html |access-date=2022-12-24|website=chesterlandtrust.org |language=en-US}}</ref>

On October 6, 2019, her property located in [[Chester, Connecticut]], was designated a site on the Connecticut Freedom Trail. The site is just one of 140 that honor African-Americans throughout the state.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Judge Constance Baker Motley property to be site on CT Freedom Trail|url=https://www.ctinsider.com/news/article/Judge-Constance-Baker-Motley-property-to-be-site-16964547.php |access-date=2022-12-24|website=ctinsider.com|date=October 2019 |language=en-US}}</ref>

In 2021, the [[New York City Department of Parks and Recreation|New York City Parks Department]] renamed the 54th Street Recreation Center in honor of Motley.<ref>{{cite news |title=Constance Baker Motley Recreation Center|url=https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/constance-baker-motley-recreation-center/pressrelease/21858 |access-date=August 26, 2024 |website=New York City Department of Parks & Recreation |date=June 16, 2021}}</ref>

The [[Harlem]] Historical Society authored a street co-naming resolution honoring Motley for her service as an American civil rights activist, lawyer, judge, state senator, and Harlem resident. The portion of Edgecombe Avenue between 159th and 160th streets was co-named "Constance Baker Motley Place".<ref name="Place">{{Cite web|title=Constance Baker Motley Place – Naming Resolution|url=https://www.harlemhistory.org/resolutions/ConstsanceBakerMotleyPlace.pdf|access-date=2022-12-24|website=harlemhistory.org|language=en-US}}</ref>

==Personal life==
[[File:Constance B. Motley with her husband Joel.jpg|thumb|right|Motley with her husband Joel]]
Constance Baker married Joel Motley Jr., a real estate and insurance broker, in 1946 at Saint Luke's Episcopal Church in [[New Haven]], [[Connecticut]]. They lived in Harlem, New York City and maintained a second home in [[Chester, Connecticut]] from 1965 until her death in 2005.<ref name="Place" /><ref>{{Cite web|title=Site Lines: Constance Baker Motley's Chester Retreat|url=https://www.ctexplored.org/site-lines-constance-baker-motleys-chester-retreat/|access-date=2022-12-24|website=ctexplored.com|date=May 19, 2021 |language=en-US}}</ref>

Baker and Motley were married for 59 years, until her death of [[congestive heart failure]] on September 28, 2005, fourteen days after her 84th birthday, at [[NYU Downtown Hospital]] in New York City.<ref name="Holley">{{Cite news
| last = Holley
| first = Joe
| title = Constance Motley Dies; Rights Lawyer, Judge
| newspaper = [[The Washington Post]]
| access-date = March 14, 2014
| date = September 29, 2005
| url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/28/AR2005092802525.html
}}</ref> Her funeral was held at the [[Connecticut]] church where she had been married; a public memorial service was held at [[Riverside Church]] in [[Manhattan]].

She left one son, Joel Wilson Motley III, co-chairman of [[Human Rights Watch]], and three grandchildren.<ref>Constance (Baker) Motley, ''The New York Times'', September 30, 2005.</ref> During the early twenty-first century, Motley became a part of the  Just The Beginning Foundation, a foundation dedicated to preserving African American judges who improve the African American community through their work.

==Legacy==

During her time as a federal judge for the Southern District of New York, Motley made efforts to reach out to other African-American women in her position.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.uscourts.gov/news/2020/02/20/constance-baker-motley-judiciarys-unsung-rights-hero|title=Constance Baker Motley: Judiciary's Unsung Rights Hero|date=February 20, 2020|website=United States Courts|access-date=March 6, 2020}}</ref> One of the women she reached out to was Judge [[Anne Elise Thompson]] who received a personal note from Motley on the day she was appointed to be a judge for the District of New Jersey.<ref name=":0" />

In 2005, the University of Pennsylvania Law School's American Constitution Society (ACS) student chapter began to host National Writing Competitions annually in honor of Constance Baker Motley.<ref>"American Constitution Society Announces 2021 Constance Baker Motley Winner." Targeted News Service, May 4, 2021.</ref>

With her work on ''Ludtke v. Kuhn'', Motley became a pivotal figure to Melissa Ludtke. Ludtke published an article in 2018 praising the work that Motley accomplished throughout her life despite the discrimination she experienced.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://medium.com/@melissaludtke_70103/we-stood-on-their-shoulders-are-they-strong-enough-for-us-now-27c1be732d7c|title=We Stood on Their Shoulders: Are they strong enough for us now?|last=Ludtke|first=Melissa|date=September 22, 2018|website=Medium|language=en|access-date=March 6, 2020}}</ref>

[[Judith Heumann]], co-founder of the World Institute on Disability, credits Motley with her becoming the first licensed teacher in the state of New York who used a wheelchair.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Heumann |first1=Judith E. |author-link1=Judith Heumann |last2=Joiner |first2=Kristen|date=2021 |title=Rolling Warriors: The Incredible, Sometimes Awkward, True Story of a Rebel Girl on Wheels Who Helped Spark a Revolution |location=Boston, Massachusetts |publisher=Beacon Press |pages=63–67 |isbn=9780807003596 |oclc=1237653289}}</ref>

U.S. Vice President [[Kamala Harris]] explicitly cites Motley's influence on her own political and law career on her campaign page.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.harris.senate.gov/about|title=My Story {{!}} U.S. Senator Kamala Harris of California|website=www.harris.senate.gov|language=en|access-date=April 20, 2020|archive-date=October 14, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201014130548/https://www.harris.senate.gov/about|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Federal Judge [[Ketanji Brown Jackson]] cited Motley as an influence on her own career in a speech accepting President [[Joe Biden]]'s nomination to become an [[Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States|associate justice]] of the [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]]. Jackson and Motley share the same birthday.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Griffiths |first1=Brent D. |title=Ketanji Brown Jackson links her historic Supreme Court nomination to the first Black federal judge: 'I stand on Judge Motley's shoulders' |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/ketanji-brown-jackson-supreme-court-2022-2 |website=Business Insider |publisher=Insider |access-date=February 25, 2022}}</ref>

An award-winning biographical documentary, ''Justice is a Black Woman: The Life and Work of Constance Baker Motley'', was broadcast on [[Connecticut Public Television]] in 2012. A documentary short, ''The Trials of Constance Baker Motley'', premiered at the [[Tribeca Film Festival]] on April 19, 2015.<ref>Tribeca Film Festival 2015 Guide.</ref>

In 2022, ''Civil Rights Queen'', an "immersive" biography of Motley, was published.<ref>{{cite magazine |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=October 11, 2021 |title=Civil Rights Queen: Constance Baker Motley and the Struggle for Equality |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/9781524747183 |magazine=Publishers Weekly |volume=268 |issue=41 |page=62 |access-date=January 29, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Brown-Nagin |first=Tomiko |author-link=Tomiko Brown-Nagin |date=2022 |title=Civil Rights Queen: Constance Baker Motley and the Struggle for Equality |url= |location=New York |edition=First |publisher=Pantheon |isbn=9781524747183 |oclc=1274172133}}</ref>

On January 31, 2024, the [[United States Postal Service]] issued a [[Commemorative stamp|commemorative postage stamp]] to honor Motley. The first day of issue ceremony took place at the Constance Baker Motley Recreation Center in New York City and was presided over by the Honorable [[Anton Hajjar]], member of the U.S. Postal Service Board.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-10-23 |title=Constance Baker Motley — Black Heritage (U.S. 2024) {{!}} virtualstampclub.com |url=https://virtualstampclub.com/lloydblog/?p=16679 |access-date=2024-01-31 |language=en-US}}</ref> This stamp was the 47th in the Black Heritage series of U.S. postage stamps.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Black Heritage Stamp Series Origins |url=https://postalmuseum.si.edu/exhibition/freedom-just-around-the-corner-black-heritage-stamp-series/black-heritage-stamp-series |access-date=2024-01-31 |website=postalmuseum.si.edu |language=en}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[List of African-American federal judges]]
* [[List of African-American jurists]]
* [[List of first women lawyers and judges in the United States]]
* [[List of people on the postage stamps of the United States|List of People on the Postage Stamps of the United States]]

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

== Further reading ==
*Ahmed, Siraj. “Encyclopedia of African-American Culture and History: the Blackexperience in the Americas.” ''Encyclopedia of African-American Culture and History: the Blackexperience in the Americas'', by Colin A. Palmer, 2nd ed., vol. 4, Macmillan Reference USA, 2006, p.&nbsp;1495.
* Brown-Nagin, Tomiko. ''Civil Rights Queen'' (Vintage, 2023), scholarly biography
*{{cite book|last1=Hardy|first1=Sheila|last2=Hardy|first2=P. Stephen|title=Extraordinary people of the civil rights movement|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780516298474|url-access=registration|date=2007|publisher=Children's Press|location=New York|isbn=9780516298474}}
*Hudson, Cheryl; Ted Canady. “13th Annual Ford Freedom Awards Celebrates ‘Champions of Justice.’” ''NBCNews.com'', NBCUniversal News Group, May 11, 2011, [https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna42996929 Ford Freedom Awards]
*{{cite book|last1=Pendergast|first1=Sara|last2=Pendergast|first2=Tom|title=Contemporary Black Biography: Profiles from the International Black Community|date=2006 |volume=55 |publisher=Thomson Gale|location=Detroit, Michigan|isbn=9781414410203}}
* {{cite book|last1=Plowden|first1=Martha Ward|title=Famous firsts of Black women|date=2002|publisher=Pelican Pub. Co.|location=Gretna, La.|isbn=9781565541979|edition=2nd}}
* Rachel Christmas Derrick, "[http://www.columbia.edu/cu/alumni/Magazine/Spring2004/motley.html A Columbian Ahead of Her Time]", ''Columbia Magazine'', Spring 2004.
*Hodgson, Godfrey, "[https://www.theguardian.com/obituaries/story/0,,1582548,00.html Constance Baker Motley]", ''The Guardian'', October 1, 2005.
* Larry Neumeister, "[http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newyork/ny-bc-ny--obit-bakermotley0928sep28,0,4343963.story?coll=ny-region-apnewyork Legendary Civil Rights Lawyer Constance Baker Motley Dies at 84]", ''Newsday'' (Associated Press), September 28, 2005.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20051216195929/http://www.brownat50.org/brownBios/BioJudgeCBakerMotley.htm Judge Constance Baker Motley] - Brown@50, [[Howard University]] School of Law
* "Judge Constance Baker Motley: A Life in Pursuit of Justice", obituary notice in ''The Defender'' (newsletter of the NAACP LDF), winter 2006.
* Dale Megan Healey, "Constance Baker Motley Is the Civil Rights Movement's Unsung Heroine," ''[[Vice Magazine]],'' April 17, 2015.
* Gary L. Ford Jr. ''Constance Baker Motley, One Woman's Fight for Civil Rights and Equal Justice under Law'', University of Alabama Press, Tuscaloosa, Alabama 2017. {{ISBN|9780817319571}}.
* John C. Walker, ''The Harlem Fox: [[J. Raymond Jones]] at Tammany 1920:1970'', New York: State University New York Press, 1989.

===Primary sources===
* 1998: ''Equal Justice Under Law: an Autobiography'', New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, {{ISBN|0-374-14865-1}}.
* 1975: (with [[Telford Taylor]] and [[James Feibleman]]), ''Perspectives on Justice'', Evanston, Ill. : Northwestern University Press

==External links==
*[https://fgb.life/what-we-do/ford-freedom-awards/ Ford Freedom Awards]
*{{FJC Bio|nid=1385436}}
*[https://jtb.org/ Just The Beginning Foundation]
*[http://www.visionaryproject.com/motleyconstancebaker Constance Baker Motley's oral history video excerpts] at The National Visionary Leadership Project
*[https://findingaids.smith.edu/repositories/2/resources/913 Constance Baker Motley papers] at the [[Sophia Smith Collection]], Smith College Special Collections

{{s-start}}
{{s-par|us-ny-sen}}
{{s-bef|before=[[James Lopez Watson]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=Member of the [[New York State Senate|New York Senate]]<br />from the 21st district|years=1964–1965}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Jeremiah B. Bloom]]}}
{{s-off}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Edward Richard Dudley|Edward R. Dudley]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Borough president|Borough President]] of [[Manhattan]]|years=1965–1966}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Percy Sutton]]}}
{{s-legal}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Archie Owen Dawson]]}}
{{s-ttl|title={{nowrap|Judge of the [[United States District Court for the Southern District of New York]]}}|years=1966–1986}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Kimba Wood]]}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Lloyd Francis MacMahon]]}}
{{s-ttl|title={{nowrap|Chief Judge of the [[United States District Court for the Southern District of New York]]}}|years=1982–1986}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Charles L. Brieant]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York}}
{{Manhattan Borough President}}
{{Connecticut Women's Hall of Fame}}
{{National Women's Hall of Fame}}
{{Spingarn Medal}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Motley, Constance Baker}}
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