African American Civil Rights Merle M McCurdy Federal Appointment Press Release 1961

John F. Kennedy

Ephemera

Kennedy, John F. White House press release announcing the intended appointment of Merle M. McCurdy as United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, 1961, documents one of the Kennedy administration’s early appointments of African Americans to senior federal legal positions. McCurdy became one of the first two African Americans named United States Attorneys in the nation; later that year Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy noted that no African American had previously served as a United States Attorney. McCurdy’s selection therefore formed part of the administration’s effort to open federal appointments that had long excluded Black attorneys.

Office of the White House Press Secretary. Press release announcing President Kennedy’s intention to appoint Merle M. McCurdy as United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio. Washington, D.C., August 23, 1961. One page, 8.5 x 11 inches. The release records the White House’s formal announcement of McCurdy’s nomination to the federal prosecutorial post. Senate records subsequently list McCurdy’s nomination as United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio for a four year term.

McCurdy’s appointment joined a broader group of Kennedy administration appointments that included Thurgood Marshall, James B. Parsons, Wade H. McCree, and Cecil F. Poole, expanding African American participation in federal judicial and legal offices during the modern Civil Rights Movement. The press release preserves the initial public announcement of McCurdy’s advancement to a position from which he would represent the United States in federal prosecutions and civil litigation throughout Northern Ohio. In excellent condition. A dated White House document recording an early breach of racial barriers within the office of the United States Attorney.

Item #13453

Price: $220.00