List of first minority male lawyers and judges in Iowa

This is a list of the first minority male lawyer(s) and judge(s) in Iowa. It includes the year in which the men were admitted to practice law (in parentheses). Also included are other distinctions, such as the first minority men in their state to graduate from law school or become a political figure.

Firsts in Iowa's history

Law degree

• First African American male law graduate: Alexander Clark in 1879 ^{[1] [2]}

Lawyers

• First African American male: A.H. Watkins (1874) ^{[3] [4] [5] [6]}
• First African American male to practice before the Iowa Supreme Court: Samuel K. Adams (1875) ^{[3] [7]}
• First Native American male: Thomas "Ted" St. Germaine (1904) ^{[8] [9]}
• First African American male to argue a case before the Supreme Court of Iowa: Samuel (S.) Joe Brown in 1906 ^{[3] [10] [11] [12]}

State judges

• First African American male: Luther T. Glanton, Jr. in 1958 ^{[13] [14]}
• First Jewish American male (district court): Ansel Chapman in 1968 ^[15]
• First African American male (district court): Luther T. Glanton, Jr. in 1976 ^{[13] [14]}
• First male of part Vietnamese descent (Iowa Supreme Court): Christopher McDonald in 2019 ^[16]
• First African American male (Third Judicial District): Robert Tiefenthaler in 2022 ^[17]

United States Attorney

• First African American male: Don Carlos Nickerson in 1993 ^[18]

Iowa Judges Association

• First African American male (President): Odell McGhee II ^[18]

Iowa State Bar Association

• First African American male (President): Henry Hamilton III in 2022 ^[18]

Firsts in local history

• Luther T. Glanton, Jr.: ^{[13] [14]} First African American male to serve as the Assistant Polk County Attorney (1951)
• Dennis J. Stovall: ^[18] First African American male to serve as a magistrate judge in Polk County, Iowa (1986)

See also

• List of first minority male lawyers and judges in the United States

Other topics of interest

• List of first women lawyers and judges in the United States
• List of first women lawyers and judges in Iowa

References

1. "Clark, Alexander G. (1826–1890) | The Black Past: Remembered and Reclaimed". blackpast.org. Retrieved December 17, 2018.
2. Clark was the first African American male to graduate from the University of Iowa College of Law (1879). His father Alexander Clark, Sr. would become the second African American law graduate in the university's history. They would go on to practice together as lawyers.
3. Smith, Jr., J. Clay (January 1, 1999). Emancipation: The Making of the Black Lawyer, 1844–1944. University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN   0812216857.
4. Writer, Carolyn Sheridan/Staff. "African Americans have rich history here too". Daily Gate City. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
5. Studies in Iowa History. State Historical Society of Iowa. 1969.
6. The Iowa Journal of History and Politics. State Historical Society of Iowa. 1948.
7. History of Clayton County: Together with Sketches of Its Cities, Villages and Townships ... Biographies of Representative Citizens. Inter-state Publishing Company. 1882.
8. "Learn of Death of Thomas St. Germaine". Ironwood Daily Globe. October 9, 1947. p. 12. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
9. Indian's Friend. National Indian Association. 1904.
10. "A Monumental Journey | Greater Des Moines Public Art Foundation". Greater Des Moines Public Art Foundation. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
11. Tarbox, Wilson (December 1, 2017). "The Arc of Justice: Kerry James Marshall Honors Pioneering Black Lawyers in New Monument in Des Moines". ARTnews. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
12. "Brown, Samuel Joe – The Biographical Dictionary of Iowa -The University of Iowa". uipress.lib.uiowa.edu. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
13. Boose, Barbara (April 16, 2010). "DMU trustee 'almost in awe' at White House celebration". Des Moines University.
14. "Glanton, Luther T., Jr. – The Biographical Dictionary of Iowa -The University of Iowa". perma.cc. Retrieved February 14, 2020.
15. "Collection: Chapman Family papers | ArchivesSpace at the University of Iowa". aspace.lib.uiowa.edu. Retrieved May 10, 2024.
16. Murphy, Erin. "First minority ever joins Iowa Supreme Court". The Gazette. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
17. "District's first Black judge 'proud to be the first'". KMTV. August 27, 2022. Retrieved August 28, 2022.
18. Howard, Terri (January 31, 2024). "Celebrating Drake Law School Alumni African American Judges in Iowa". Drake University Newsroom. Retrieved April 9, 2025.