WE SALUTE OSCAR ADAMS:

First African American on Alabama State Supreme Court; first black law firm in Birmingham. The son of journalist and businessman Oscar William Adams Sr. and Ella Virginia Eaton, Oscar Adams Jr. was born on February 7th, 1925, and grew up in Birmingham, Alabama. A graduate of Lincoln Elementary School, Industrial High School (now known as A.H. Parker),Talladega College, and Howard University, He opened his own law practice in 1947 and represented African-American clients in precedent-setting cases, one of which challenged the segregation practices of the Interstate Commerce Commission and another that won African-Americans the right to be called by their full proper names and titles during court proceedings. Adams also went on to represent thousands of demonstrators involved in the Civil Rights Movement protests of the early sixties. Adams’ appointment to the Alabama Supreme Court was on October 10th, 1980, making him the first African-American justice to hold that office. After being twice re-elected to this post, Adams retired from the bench in 1993 and died on February 15th, 1997.