George E.C. Hayes

Courtesy photo from NAACP

Quick Facts

Significance:

First African American named to District of Columbia board of directors

Place of Birth:

Richmond, VA

Date of Birth:

July 1, 1894

Place of Death:

Washington, DC

Date of Death:

December 20, 1968

Place of Burial:

Hyattsville, Prince George's County, Maryland, USA

Cemetery Name:

National Harmony Memorial Park Cemetery

George E.C. Hayes graduated from Howard University School of Law in 1918 and returned in1924 as an instructor. He had established a private practice in the District of Columbia, and continued to practice while teaching.

George E.C. Hayes was responsible for starting the oral argument of Bolling v. Sharpe, the case which originated in the District of Columbia. This case, along with four others would come to the U.S. Supreme Court at the same time and become known as Brown v. Board of Education.

In 1962, the District of Columbia Bar Association named Hayes to its board of directors, making him the first African American to hold office in that group.