A Baltimore City judge who reviewed his credentials for admission to the Bar Association found Edward Garrison Draper “qualified in all respects,” and saying the Dartmouth graduate was “most intelligent and well informed in his answers,” but rejected him from the Bar because in 1857, Draper had the one thing even the smartest lawyer couldn’t hide: he was Black, and therefore became the first person banned from the Bar solely because he was Black.
According to the Baltimore Sun, the Supreme Court of Maryland held a special session Thursday to right the wrong in the slightest bit and admit Draper to the Bar posthumously. The effort to admit Draper was led by a former Texas judge, John Browning, who works to address past injustices.