J. L. Chestnut

J.L. Chestnut (December 16, 1930 – September 30, 2008) [ [http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/01/us/01chestnut.html?_r=1&oref=slogin "The New York Times" Obituary] ] was an author, attorney, and a figure in the U.S. Civil Rights Movement. He was the first African-American attorney in Selma, Alabama, and the author of the autobiographical book, "Black in Selma", which chronicles the history of the civil rights struggle in Selma, including Bloody Sunday.

Chestnut was born in Selma, and attended law school at Howard University. He returned home to become Selma's first and only black attorney, and represented civil rights demonstrators at trial there when the movement began in the 1960s.

He died, aged 77, of kidney failure, after an illness lasting several months.

References

External links

* [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE3DC103DF935A1575BC0A966958260 "New York Times" review] of "Black in Selma"
* [http://www.counterpunch.org/chestnut10262005.html "The Legacy of Rosa Parks"] , article by Chestnut in "Counterpunch", October 26, 2005