John Morton Finney was a Buffalo soldier who fought in World War 1, earned 11 degrees and practiced law until he was 106 years old.
He was believed to be the longest practicing attorney in the United States.
—John Morton-Finney (June 25, 1889 - January 28, 1998) was an American civil rights activist, lawyer, and educator who earned 11 academic degrees, including 5 law degrees.
He spent most of his career as an educator and lawyer after serving from 1911 to 1914 in the U.S. Army as a member of the 24th Infantry Regiment, better known as the Buffalo soldiers, and with the American Expeditionary Forces in
France during World War I.
Morton-Finney taught languages at Fisk University in Tennessee and at Lincoln University in Missouri, before moving to Indianapolis, Indiana, where he taught in the Indianapolis Public Schools for forty-seven years.
He was a member of the original faculty at Indianapolis's Crisps Attucks High School when it opened in 1927 and later became head of its foreign language department. He also taught at Shortridge High School and at other IPS schools.
He was admitted as a member of the Bar of the Indiana Supreme Court in 1935, as a member of the Bar of the U.S. District Court in 1941, and was admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court in 1972.
Juneteenth is a celebration of strength, survival, and freedom. It honors the unbreakable spirit of those who fought for liberation, and the generations who carry that legacy forward. It’s a reminder that freedom is not just a moment in history #Juneteenth ✊🏾🎉
I, Too
BY LANGSTON HUGHES
I, too, sing America.
I am the darker brother.
They send me to eat in the kitchen
When company comes,
But I laugh,
And eat well,
And grow strong.
Tomorrow,
I’ll be at the table
When company comes.
Nobody’ll dare
Say to me,
“Eat in the kitchen,”
Then.
Besides,
They’ll see how beautiful I am
And be ashamed—
I, too, am America.