Houston, Charles H.

Houston, Charles H. (Hamilton)

(1895–1950) lawyer; born in Washington, D.C. A graduate of Amherst College (1915) and Harvard Law School (1922), he taught and served as vice-dean at Howard University (1915–35) and practiced law in Washington (1924–50). He initiated the strategy for many celebrated civil rights cases brought before the U.S. Supreme Court by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and through his position at Howard, he guided and inspired several generations of African-Americans who would go on to prominent legal careers.