Ely Samuel Parker, a Native American who served as an aide to Ulysses S. Grant during the Civil War, was kept from practicing law during his lifetime.
Mark Montour, the first Native American to serve in a state-level judgeship in New York, was among the justices present during Parker’s formal admission ceremony on Friday.
Even more than a century after his death, Ely Samuel Parker, an aide to Ulysses S. Grant during the Civil War and an official in the federal government, is still adding to his achievements.
On Friday, Parker was admitted to the New York State Bar Association, 176 years after he was denied entry because of his race, becoming the first Native American to be admitted to a state bar posthumously, according to legal experts.