James Benton Parsons
August 13, 1911 – June 19, 1993
He made a profound mark in American legal history by becoming the first African American to hold the esteemed position of a judge in a U.S. district court. His remarkable career ultimately led to his appointment as a United States district judge for the Northern District of Illinois.
James Benton Parsons was born on August 13, 1911, in Kansas City, Missouri. His family’s journey led them to various places, including St. Louis, Missouri, Lexington, Kentucky, Dayton, Ohio, and Bloomington, Indiana, before they settled in Decatur, Illinois. Parsons developed a passion for law during his junior high school years, even earning the title of “class orator” for the Stephen Decatur High School class of 1929, a notable achievement for a student of color. Besides his academic pursuits, he was an active member of his school’s basketball team and participated in the school band and orchestra. In 1934, he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Millikin University.
Parsons began his career as the acting head of music at Lincoln University in Missouri, where he crossed paths with Nathaniel Dett, a former teacher at the university. Dett offered him a position at Bennett College in Greensboro, North Carolina, a historically black college, to serve as the director of music and re-score some of Dett’s chorales. By 1939, Parsons had risen to the role of director of instrumental music for the segregated public schools in Greensboro. Under his guidance, the band at James B. Dudley High School gained recognition throughout the state for its exceptional musicianship and precise marching.
During World War II, Parsons enlisted in the United States Naval Reserve in May 1942, serving as a Musician MUS1. He directed the U.S. Navy B-1 Fleet Band, which was composed of the first African Americans to serve in the modern Navy at a rank higher than messman. The band was stationed at Chapel Hill, North Carolina, attached to the Navy’s pre-flight school at the University of North Carolina campus. In May 1944, it was transferred to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, stationed at Manana Barracks, which held the largest posting of African-American servicemen worldwide. During this period, Parsons was selected to be part of a Navy panel investigating a 1944 riot in Guam among Marines, an experience that fueled his interest in studying law. Despite his service as band director and his leadership, Parsons mustered out of the Navy in 1945 as a Musician 1st class, never having achieved the officer’s rank, which he and his fellow servicemen believed he had earned.
Following the war, Parsons utilized the GI Bill to pursue higher education. In 1946, he earned his Master of Arts degree from the University of Chicago, followed by a Juris Doctor from the University of Chicago Law School in 1949. He subsequently embarked on a career in private practice in Chicago from 1949 to 1951, simultaneously serving as an assistant corporation counsel during that period. He later assumed the role of Assistant United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, where he worked from 1951 to 1960. His career then led him to become a judge of the Superior Court of Cook County, Illinois, serving from 1960 to 1961.
The vintage wire photograph on paperDocument photographer is unknown.
In recognition of his legal acumen and dedication, President John F. Kennedy nominated James Benton Parsons on August 10, 1961, to fill a vacancy on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois left by Judge Philip Leo Sullivan. His nomination was confirmed by the United States Senate on August 30, 1961, making him the trailblazing first African American to hold the esteemed position of a U.S. district judge in a U.S. district court. Parsons’s service extended beyond his appointment; he assumed the role of Chief Judge from 1975 to 1981 and became a member of the Judicial Conference of the United States from 1975 to 1978. On August 30, 1981, he transitioned to senior status, and his distinguished service to the legal profession and society continued until his passing on June 19, 1993, in Chicago. He was laid to rest at Greenwood Cemetery in Decatur.