Marjorie McKenzie Lawson

Marjorie McKenzie Lawson (March 2, 1912 – October 11, 2002) was an African American attorney and judge who served on multiple federal commissions. Lawson's work as a lawyer focused on real estate development for urban renewal. She worked as the civil rights director for John F. Kennedy's 1960 presidential campaign, garnering endorsements from prominent Black community leaders and advising his policy decisions. In 1962 she was appointed by President Kennedy as an associate judge for the Juvenile Court of the District of Columbia, making her the first Black woman judge in the District. She was also appointed as the U.S. representative to the United Nations Economic and Social Council in 1965.

Early life and education

Marjorie Alice McKenzie was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1912. Her parents were T. Wallace McKenzie and Gertrude Stiver McKenzie.

She earned two degrees at the University of Michigan: a bachelor's degree in 1933 and a Master of Social Work in 1934. After graduating from the University of Michigan, McKenzie moved to Washington, D.C. to attend the historically Black Terrell Law School, going on to graduate in 1939. They married in 1939 after her graduation. In April 1954, Jet magazine reported that Lawson had filed for divorce, saying that her husband had been guilty of "extreme cruelty, mental in nature," which had impacted Lawson's health. They were remarried by 1957.

Career

Lawson's career touched on multiple areas of civil rights law. Her focus was on real estate tax law and the development of federally subsidized housing, working on urban renewal projects that benefited African-American residents. During the 1950s, she was the general counsel to the National Council of Negro Women.

Lawson met John F. Kennedy around 1957, when her husband was approached by the Senator's staff to work within Boston's Black community in advance of Kennedy's 1958 senatorial reelection campaign. Belford did not want to leave his law practice, but suggested Marjorie would be the ideal person to manage that effort.

In 1962, Kennedy appointed Lawson as an associate judge on the Juvenile Court of the District of Columbia, making her the first Black woman judge in the District of Columbia as well as the first Black woman appointed by a president to a judicial post. That same year, Lawson was also appointed to the President's Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity, established by Executive Order 10925 to investigate discrimination complaints. Just a few months later, in September 1965, Johnson appointed her as the United States representative to the United Nations Economic and Social Council.

After that role ended, Lawson continued her work with urban renewal by cofounding the Model Inner City Community Organization, a citizens group advocating for the construction of public housing.