Martha Gadley was trapped in a horrific marriage. Her husband’s drunken rages escalated into violence, culminating one terrifying night when he chopped through their floor with an ax, threatening to plunge her into the room below. He denied her water when illness struck and even boarded up their home when she attempted to escape, imprisoning her within its walls.
Enough was enough for Martha. In 1875, this courageous, illiterate Black woman took a bold step: she filed for divorce. In an era where the legal system largely ignored domestic abuse, her initial petition was dismissed. Undeterred, Martha escalated her fight to the District of Columbia Supreme Court. There, she found an unexpected ally in Charlotte E. Ray, a lawyer as extraordinary as her own plight.
Charlotte Ray was not just any attorney. She stood among a minuscule number of women practicing law in the United States. More remarkably, Charlotte Ray is widely recognized as the first Black woman lawyer in the nation. In a powerful and eloquently written petition to the District of Columbia Supreme Court, Ray championed Martha’s cause. Her legal expertise and passionate advocacy secured a rare victory for Martha in Gadley v. Gadley.
Alt text: Historical image depicting Howard University in 1868, where Charlotte Ray studied law, showcasing the era’s architecture and atmosphere.
While details of Charlotte E. Ray’s life remain scarce, the known aspects paint a portrait of unwavering bravery. The 19th century legal landscape was heavily skewed against women. Licensing restrictions and exclusionary professional organizations effectively barred women from legal careers. As legal historian Susan Erlich Martin points out, the legal field was dominated by white men who actively prevented women and people of color from legal education, practice, and professional advancement.
Despite these formidable barriers, pioneering women like Charlotte Ray resolutely challenged the status quo, demonstrating their intellectual capacity and legal acumen. However, access to education remained a significant obstacle. Higher education, particularly law school, was largely unavailable to women, with many institutions explicitly forbidding their enrollment.
For Charlotte Ray, raised in a forward-thinking household, education was paramount to her legal aspirations. Her father, Charles Bennett Ray, a prominent abolitionist and clergyman, understood the transformative power of education. He was the editor of The Colored American, a pioneering newspaper for African Americans. Charles ensured Charlotte’s enrollment at the Institution for the Education of Colored Youth, one of the few institutions offering education to young Black women. While the school included domestic skills training, its primary focus was teacher training, and Charlotte initially pursued this path at Howard University.
Howard University, notably non-discriminatory in its admissions, allowed Charlotte to enroll in law classes, even though women were barred from the District of Columbia bar. Undeterred, Charlotte Ray took the bar exam.
Accounts suggest a strategic maneuver facilitated her bar admission. Lelia J. Robinson, writing in 1890, noted, “I have been told that her admission to the bar was secured by a clever ruse, her name being sent in with her classmates as C.E. Ray…although there was some commotion when it was discovered that one of the applicants was a woman.”
Alt text: Historical portrait of Lelia J. Robinson, a late 19th-century figure who documented Charlotte Ray’s clever admission to the bar, highlighting a fellow woman in law history.
While the “clever ruse” narrative is debated by historians who point to a recent decision to admit women to the bar, the exact circumstances of Charlotte Ray’s admission remain unclear. Regardless, her admission in 1872 marked a significant milestone. Charlotte Ray became not only Howard University’s first female Black law graduate but also one of a select few women practicing law in the entire country at that time.
Details about Charlotte Ray’s legal career are sparse, but it was tragically short-lived, curtailed by pervasive prejudice against both Black individuals and women. Despite her landmark victory in Martha Gadley’s divorce case, Charlotte Ray was compelled to close her practice soon after. The novelty of a Black woman lawyer was met with deep-seated prejudice, preventing her from securing a sustainable client base. By the 1880s, Charlotte Ray relocated to New York, transitioning to a career as a public school teacher. However, she remained a dedicated advocate for social justice, passionately supporting both women’s suffrage and racial equality for Black women throughout her life.
Alt text: Archival image from the 19th century depicting a women’s suffrage rally, symbolizing the broader movement Charlotte Ray passionately supported alongside her legal career and advocacy for equality.
Charlotte Ray’s groundbreaking achievements occurred despite a legal profession that remained largely unwelcoming to Black women for decades. Even in contemporary times, women of color in law continue to experience a significant wage gap compared to their white male counterparts, underscoring the enduring legacy of the barriers Charlotte Ray bravely confronted and challenged.
