Carter Walker Wesley

Carter Walker Wesley (April 29, 1892 – November 10, 1969) was an American lawyer, newspaperman and political activist.

Taking inspiration from W. E. B. Du Bois and other black leaders and writers, Wesley joined the NAACP and started a career in law. Soon after graduation, World War I started and interrupted his plans. He enrolled in a black officer's training camp at Fort Des Moines in Iowa, and eventually was commissioned as a first lieutenant.

Wesley had three children and was married to Dorris Wooten. After a career as a lawyer and newspaper publisher, he died in Houston on November 10, 1969, aged 77, and was buried in Paradise Cemetery (North), in Houston, Texas.

Military career

During World War I, Wesley volunteered to be in the U.S. Army through a program called the black officers training program. He eventually went on to serve as a lieutenant in France until 1918. Wesley and his unit were sent to Europe where he fought in the Argonne and Verdun regions.

In 1918, Wesley was assigned to 372nd infantry regiment in France and trained with French officers. Later he transferred to the 370th Infantry Regiment and fought in the battle of Oise-Aisne the same year. He commanded the company when the captain became wounded. He was released in 1919 after returning from the 93rd Infantry Division

Legal career Wesley was inspired by W. E. B. Du Bois and various black leaders to join the NAACP and began his career in law. He began attending law school at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, before World War I and became active in civil rights issues as an attorney. At one point, he suggested that the NAACP stop depending on white attorneys to work on cases in Texas.

Wesley worked with members of the NAACP, including Thurgood Marshall, to fight the state of Texas and the Texas Democratic Party in order to end the racially discriminatory white primary election.

Wesley was also an instrument in desegregating the University of Texas Law School, by providing support for Heman Sweatt, who was not admitted because he was black. Wesley even employed Sweatt at one of his newspapers while the suit was going through the courts.

Wesley was also the owner of the Dallas Express, one of the papers published by Freedman's Publishing Company. He was sent with 10 other black publishers to Germany to "investigate claims of discrimination against black servicemen in that country."