John D. Drake

John D. Drake (c. 1888–1970) was a prominent American civil rights attorney and the charter president of the Northern California Branch (also referred to as the Western California Branch and later Oakland Branch) of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), leading the branch from 1919 until 1927.The Northern California Branch of the NAACP covered the cities of San Francisco, Oakland and Berkeley as well as Alameda county. His leadership was defined by aggressive legal and public campaigns against racial defamation, mob violence, and the expansion of the Ku Klux Klan in California. He was noted as a civil rights champion, a leader in the Oakland, California African American community, and a pioneering distinguished attorney who led many significant legal battles.

Early life and education

Drake was born on February 19, 1988, in Marlboro county, South Carolina to Thomas Drake and Mary Henegan, who were farmers. Drake completed his undergraduate studies at Benedict College in Columbia, South Carolina, and earned his law degree from Howard University Law School in Washington, D.C. in 1915. Following his graduation, he went home to Bennettsville, South Carolina, and then traveled to Iowa where he completed a one-year apprentice program with an attorney before relocating to Oakland, California, where he began practicing law in 1917.

Civil rights and NAACP leadership

Fighting the Ku Klux Klan and propaganda In 1921, Drake, as president of the Northern California Branch of the NAACP, wrote to the San Francisco Mayor, James Rolph, Jr., to protest the planned screening of the film The Birth of a Nation, highlighting its potential to incite racial terror. Drake credited as the catalyst who rallied the Black community to protest the airing of the film. He followed this by petitioning the city to ban face masks in San Francisco as an anti-Klan tactic. He succeeded in blocking the KKK from being incorporated in California. Drake coordinated with the national NAACP office, requesting materials from Assistant Secretary Walter White to assist in opposing the film's exhibition. His efforts and tactics were shared with other chapters of the NAACP, including the Boston branch. In his 1921 letter to the Sonora Banner (a newspaper based in Sonora California), Drake warns that "no man can advocate discrimination against such a people without proving himself void of a sense of justice." In December 1922, Drake protested the incorporation of the Women of the Ku Klux Klan, arguing the name itself was prima facie evidence of its connection to the infamous Klan. California Secretary of State, Frank C. Jordan, replied that while he was "absolutely in sympathy" with Drake's sentiments, he was legally bound to file the articles of incorporation if they met technical requirements, unlike the male Klan organization where he had more discretion.

The Sidney and Irene Dearing case (1924) This key case, early in his career gained national attention. Drake represented Sidney and Irene Dearing, an African American businessman who purchased a home in the all-white suburb of Piedmont, California. After a mob of 500 white residents surrounded the home and the city threatened eminent domain, Drake, as the Dearing's attorney and president of the Northern California branch of the NAACP, publicly challenged the city's action. He argued that the attempt to seize the property disregarded Dearing's constitutional rights "simply on the ground of his color".

Challenging housing discrimination and exclusionary racial practices In addition to the Dearing case, Drake fiercely advocated for others who were threatened or forced out of all-white neighborhoods in the Bay Area.

Defense of civil rights and citizenship Drake actively engaged with the press to refute racist narratives. In June 1921, Drake published a scathing response to an article by editor Charles S. Jones that claimed the gatherings of African Americans bred crime. Each were pioneering Black attorneys in the East Bay/Oakland area of the San Francisco Bay Area. Overall, he practiced law for 32 years in Alameda county, California. He was a member of the Men of Tomorrow, Inc. and was a lifelong Republican, owing from their assistance with his anti-lynching bill and other support of his causes. He was an Associate Pastor of North Oakland Baptist Church, member of the Alameda County Bar Association, and member of the California Bar Association.

Family

He was married to Willette Martin (Drake) (1901–1986), who was also a very accomplished leader in the Oakland community and founding member of the local Bay Area chapter of Jack and Jill of America, and was associated with St. Augustine's Episcopal Church. Willette and John had one daughter, Joan Drake Brown.

Drake died on April 2, 1970 and is interred together with Willette in Oakland California. Funeral services were held at North Oakland Baptist Church.