Eunice Carter

Eunice Roberta Hunton Carter (1899-1970) was one of the first female African American lawyers in the United States, and broke down racial and gender barriers.

She established a lengthy career in both law and international politics. She was the first black woman to receive a law degree from Fordham University in New York City, 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 Attorney Thomas Dewey to personally prosecute the case. Luciano was convicted and served ten years, and 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.

Active in the Pan-African Congress in the 1920s, she later became active in the United Nations as well.

Eunice Carter was the granddaughter of a slave, Stanton Hunton, who purchased his freedom shortly before the Civil War. She wed Lisle Carter, Sr., a 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.

References

*http://womenslegalhistory.stanford.edu/papers0203/eunice.2002.pdf