James Benton Parsons: August 9, 1961

Jet, August 14, 1995

James Benton Parsons, musician, educator, lawyer and judge, on this day became the first Black appointed a federal District Court judge by President John F. Kennedy. He was also the first Black to receive a lifetime appointment in that post. Judge Parsons was born in Kansas City, MO. He attended Millikin Univ.

in Decatur, IL, working his way through school as a composing room laborer for the Herald Review daily in Decature. He received his A.B. degree in 1934 and headed the music department of Lincoln Univ. in Jefferson City, M0. He also served as a bandmaster in the Navy for three years. In 1946, he received his M.A. degree from the University of Chicago and a J.D. degree in 1949. He joined a law firm in Chicago, taught law at John Marshall Law School, and was an assistant Chicago corporation counsel until 1951. Judge Parsons was the recipient of academic and professional honors, including a 1981 citation from the Chicago Bar Association for outstanding service as chief judge of the District Court. He died June 19, 1993 at age 81.