Honoring MD's first Black woman lawyer, Juanita Jackson Mitchell

By Tom Hall,

Teria Rogers, Rob Sivak, Malarie Pinkard-Pierre

Published April 19, 2023 at 12:45 PM EDT

Juanita Jackson Mitchell was the first Black woman to practice law in Maryland and the first Black female graduate of the University of Maryland's Carey School of Law. The building housing the late jurist's original office on Druid Hill Avenue in Upton is being restored and converted into a legal and social services center for the local community. The Beloved Community Services Corporation, a non-profit development group directed by Alvin Hathaway, purchased the property and is overseeing the renovation. The group recently received a $1.75 million US congressional grant to support the project. (photo courtesy Sen. Michael Mitchell) — Juanita Jackson Mitchell was the first Black woman to practice law in Maryland and the first Black female graduate of the University of Maryland's Carey School of Law. The building housing the late jurist's original office on Druid Hill Avenue in Upton is being restored and converted into a legal and social services center for the local community. (photo courtesy Sen. Michael Mitchell)

Juanita Jackson Mitchell (January 2, 1913 – July 7, 1992) is one of Maryland's most revered civil rights icons. An activist whose imprint on the struggle for civil rights is immutable, she was the first Black woman to graduate from the University of Maryland Carey School of Law, and the first African American woman to practice law in Maryland.

Her legacy will be honored when the building in Baltimore’s Marble Hill neighborhood she used as a law office during her storied career is to be renovated and preserved as a community legal center.

The Beloved Community Services Corporation, a non-profit community development group directed by Alvin Hathaway, purchased the property and is overseeing the renovation. The group recently received a $1.75 million US congressional grant to support the project.

Former Maryland delegate Keiffer Jackson Mitchell Jr., right, along with U.S. Senator Ben Cardin, left, and Rep. Kweisi Mfume, center, announce the future home of the Juanita Jackson Mitchell Law Center in the Marble Hill historic district in the Upton neighborhood of Baltimore. Keiffer Mitchell Jr. is the grandson of Juanita Jackson Mitchell, who became the first African American woman to practice law in Maryland. (Paul Newson/The Baltimore Banner) — Former Maryland delegate Keiffer Jackson Mitchell Jr., right, along with U.S. Senator Ben Cardin, left, and Rep. Kweisi Mfume, center, announce the future home of the Juanita Jackson Mitchell Law Center in the Marble Hill historic district in Baltimore's Upton neighborhood. Keiffer Mitchell Jr. is the grandson of Juanita Jackson Mitchell, an esteemed civil rights activist who was the first African American woman to practice law in Maryland. (Paul Newson/The Baltimore Banner)

Joining Tom now is one of Juanita Jackson Mitchell’s sons, former Maryland State Senator Michael Mitchell. He joins us on Zoom…