The Miss Mary Case
When the U.S. Supreme Court issues a ruling, its decisions can carry weight for generations. For instance, civil rights decisions to overturn schools segregation or to uphold the Montgomery bus boycott are just as significant today. But another Alabama case from that era had a subtle effect on how courts treat defendants.
It used to be customary to only address black people by their first name.
That practice didn’t sit well with Mary Hamilton. She was a teacher, a Freedom Rider and the first female field organizer in the south for the Congress of Racial Equality. Sheila Michaels was her roommate during this time and said Hamilton was tough and brave — like the nuns of her Catholic school upbringing.
“Her opinions were unbendable, iron,” said Michaels.
Hamilton’s Day in Court
Civil rights protests in Alabama hit a crescendo in the spring of 1963. In Gadsden, police arrested Hamilton and other demonstrators. At a hearing that June, the court referred to her as “Mary.”
“She just would not answer the judge until he called her ‘Miss Hamilton.’ And he refused. So he found her in contempt of court,” Michaels said.
Hamilton was thrown in jail and fined $50. The NAACP took up the case. It eventually appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court which ruled the following year in Hamilton’s favor. In other words, everyone in court deserves titles of courtesy regardless of race or ethnicity.
Sheila Michaels says Hamilton was immensely proud of the case.
“I mean a Supreme Court case, you know, decided for you. Are you kidding, this is a big deal,” said Michaels.
It’s a big deal for a person, but a footnote in the history books. And when it comes to civil rights history it’s the names of men such as Martin Luther King Jr. or Ralph Abernathy that are mostly remembered. Women don’t get much billing beyond Rosa Parks.
Women in the Civil Rights Movement.
Historian Tara White researches women in the civil rights movement. She says part of the reason is during that time period women weren’t in prominent roles. Journalists compounded that by gravitating to male leaders. But White says without women there’s no movement.
“The majority of the folks who were doing the day to day work were women. The majority of the people who were participating in protest marches and those kinds of things were women,” White said.
White says Mary Hamilton wasn’t just bumping up against racial attitudes. Her behavior in court was not what the south expected of a lady.
“Lower class, loose women, call attention to themselves. Real ladies don’t do that,” said White.
Hamilton died in 2002, but the “Miss Mary Case” as it became known still holds important lessons today. Dain Stewart is a student at Samford University’s Cumberland School of Law. He said they’re taught to use mister or missus particularly when cross examining non-expert witnesses in front of juries.
“Cause they’re not just Jim or Steve or Mary just sitting there. Looking down upon them. But they look up on them as an equal or someone that they respect,” Stewart said.
Titles command respect. Especially for Miss Mary Hamilton.
Welcome to summer: U.S. braces for first significant heat wave of the new season
For many Americans, high humidity will make it feel in the triple digits. The National Weather Service is urging people to prepare to protect themselves from the dangers of extreme heat.
Voice of America gutted by Trump adviser Kari Lake
The Trump administration is slashing jobs at Voice of America's parent agency by 85%. Journalists who have risked their freedom to report for the broadcaster wonder what happens next.
Judge orders release of Columbia activist Mahmoud Khalil
Khalil will be released on bail while his case challenging his deportation orders plays out in the courts.
A cancer center in Jordan treats kids from Gaza, but only a few dozen have arrived
Children from Gaza with cancer are finally making it to Jordan for long-promised treatment. But a plan to allow as many as 2,000 patients out of the war-torn enclave has slowed.
What children in poverty could lose from the ‘Big Beautiful Bill’
Republicans want to change or reduce key social safety net programs that provide healthcare, food benefits and financial assistance for millions of children.
Bessemer recommends changing its laws to accommodate one of the country’s largest proposed data centers
Despite overwhelming public opposition, officials in Bessemer voted to recommend changes to city zoning ordinances to allow the massive development. Its operation could strain the state’s water and power supplies and leave an already imperiled fish species at risk of extinction.
