Edward R. Dudley papers

Note written by Shannon Burrell

Edward R. Dudley, attorney, ambassador, elected official, and Supreme Court Justice of the state of New York, was an active participant in the civil rights movement and politics. Dudley was the first African American to serve as an U.S. Ambassador, serving as an ambassador to the country of Liberia. He also wrote briefs and prepared cases that requested admission of Black students to Southern colleges.

Edward R. Dudley was born on March 11, 1911, to Edward Richard and Nellie (Johnson) Dudley in South Boston, Virginia. Dudley was educated in the public schools of Roanoke, Virginia. In 1928, Dudley enrolled in Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, North Carolina, where he earned his bachelor of science degree in 1932. After graduating from Johnson C. Smith University, Dudley taught first through seventh grades in Staunton, Virginia. His goal was to follow the career path of his father, a dentist. In 1934, Dudley began his quest of becoming a dentist, receiving a scholarship to attend Howard University Dental School in Washington, D.C. Dudley excelled in his studies at dental school but was forced to withdraw because of financial difficulties. After withdrawing, he moved to New York City to be near his uncle, Edward A. Johnson. In New York City, Dudley took up several odd jobs before gaining employment with the Works Progress Administration Theater project. The project's mission was to provide work for unemployed actors, playwrights, directors, and other theater professionals.

In 1938, Dudley decided to enroll in law school and in 1941 earned his law degree from Saint John's University, in Queens, New York. During this period he became active in politics, working as a grass-roots political organizer in Harlem, New York. As a result of his political work he was appointed to the New York Attorney General's office in 1942. During that same year Dudley married Rae Olney, a school teacher, and they had one son, Edward Richard III, born in 1943. Also in 1943, Dudley accepted a post as an assistant special counsel to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Legal Defense and Education Fund. He worked under the supervision of Thurgood Marshall, assisting him in filing lawsuits on behalf of African American voters in the South.

In 1945, President Harry S. Truman appointed Dudley as the legal counsel to Charles Harwood, Governor of the United States Virgin Islands. He served as legal counsel to Harwood for two years before returning to the NAACP. In 1948, President Truman appointed Dudley to the position of United States Prime Minister to Liberia. In accepting this position he became, the first United States Ambassador to Liberia and the first African American ambassador. Dudley's chief objectives were to implement President Truman's Four Point Plan, which outlined foreign aid to Africa. The plan also sought to provide technical assistance, as well as agricultural and industrial equipment and skills training.

In 1953, after leaving his post as ambassador to Liberia he returned to the NAACP, and joined its "Fight for Freedom" fundraising project. He again left the NAACP in 1955 to become a Justice in Domestic Relations Court in New York City, New York.

In 1961, Dudley was elected President of the Borough of Manhattan, where he served until 1965, becoming the first African American chairman of the New York County Democratic Committee. Also in 1965, he was elected as a Justice on the Supreme Court for the State of New York and served until 1967 when he was designated as an Administrative Judge for the Criminal Court for the City of New York. In 1971, he was appointed as an Administrative Judge on the Supreme Court of New York and served until his retirement in 1985. Dudley died in 2005 at the age of 93.