The Supreme Court recently agreed to hear lawsuits against Harvard and the University of North Carolina for unconstitutionally discriminating against Asian-American students in its admissions program. As justices revisit the issue of affirmative action, they could learn something from John S. Rock, the first black attorney admitted to practice before the Court in 1865. Rock showed how pernicious it is for government to “make race relevant to the provision of burdens or benefits,” as Justice Clarence Thomas wrote in his opinion in the landmark 2003 affirmative action case, Grutter v. Bollinger.
Despite significant government-imposed racial barriers, Rock accomplished much during his 41 years. Born in New Jersey in 1826, he was a teacher, dentist, physician, and Lyceum speaker who shared the stage with fellow abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison. But Rock’s role as an attorney has been forgotten.
Rock’s historic path began when he couldn’t find a medical school that would accept black medical students. He practiced dentistry until his admittance to a Philadelphia medical school in 1850. Soon thereafter, Rock moved to Boston’s Beacon Hill, home to a vibrant black community, where he opened a successful medical practice while also captivating audiences as a popular abolitionist speaker and advocate for black pride.
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