Although West Virginia stayed in the red yesterday there was great support by West Virginians although not always reported that way by the national media. This morning I shared with friends some links to history about a West Virginia lawyer, J.R. Clifford, as a way to reflect on the significance of Obama's win.
Mr. Clifford (wikipedia entry) paved the way in 1898 as a result of his legal work on his most famous case, Williams v. Board of Education Tucker County. The case was the first in U.S. history to hold that discrimination in school terms and teacher pay is against the law. The case occurred 50 years before the landmark Brown v. Board of Education. In 1896, two years prior, Mr. Clifford brought the first legal challenge of the state's segregated school system to the court which he ultimately lost and was not overturned until Brown v. Board of Education. For more on Mr. Clifford check out the J.R. Clifford Project (www.jrclifford.org).
As a fellow West Virginian and lawyer I'm proud of Mr. Clifford and his willingness to create change and look forward to supporting President Elect Obama's efforts to create positive change for the United States at home and around the globe.
