BLACK SOCIAL HISTORY : AFRICAN AMERICAN " EUNICE CARTER " SHE BROKE DOWN RACIAL AND GENDER BARRIERS BY BECOMING ONE OF NEW YORK'S FIRST AFRICAN AMERICAN FEMALE LAWYERS THEN BECOMING ONE OF THE FIRST DISTRICT ATTORNEYS OF COLOR IN THE UNITED STATES : GOES INTO THE " HALL OF BLACK HEROES "

            BLACK     SOCIAL    HISTORY                                                                                                                  

                        Eunice Carter

Eunice Roberta Hunton Carter (1899-1970) broke down racial and gender barriers by becoming one of New York's first African American female lawyers, and then becoming one of the first district attorneys of color in the United States.

She was born in Atlanta, the daughter of William Alphaeus Hunton Sr. (founder of the black division of the Y.M.C.A.) and Addie Hunton (a social worker); she graduated fromSmith College in Northampton MA, receiving a Bachelor's and then a Master's degree. After a brief time as a social worker, she decided to study law. She became the first black women to receive a law degree from Fordham University in New York City (Gray, 2007, n.p). In mid-May 1933, Eunice Carter passed the Bar Exam in New York ("Two New York Women, 6).

She soon established a lengthy career in both law and international politics. , and in 1935 she became the first black woman assistant district attorney in the state of New York.

As an assistant DA, Carter put together a massive prostitution racketeering case that led eventually to Mafia boss Lucky Luciano. Carter convinced New York District AttorneyThomas Dewey to personally prosecute the case. Luciano was convicted and served ten years, and was then deported. The case generated national fame for Dewey, which he rode to the New York statehouse, and to two unsuccessful runs for the White House. But while Dewey benefited from Carter's prosecutorial skills, he also seemed to have genuine respect for her; she frequently accompanied him to political events in Harlem and elsewhere, and reporters noted that she offered him advice ("Judge Paige," 6)

Active in the Pan-African Congress in the 1920s, Carter later became active in the United Nations as well, serving on committees that advocated for improving the status of women ("Eunice Carter," 14). In addition to her work for the UN, she also served on the Executive Committee of the International Council of Women, an organization with representatives from 37 countries ("U.S. Women's Unit," 9) Additionally, she served on the board of the Y.W.C.A. (Gray, 2007, n.p.)

Eunice Carter was the granddaughter of a slave, Stanton Hunton, who purchased his freedom shortly before the Civil War, and the sister of W A Hunton Jr, an author, academic and activist noted for his involvement with the Council on African Affairs.^[1] She wed Lisle Carter, Sr., who was one of the first African American dentists in New York, and lived for many years in Harlem. The couple's only child, Lisle Carter, Jr., went on to practice law, and later worked in the Kennedy and Johnson Administrations