Today we remember the life of a woman who died 50 years ago this year after a career that was successful, but not as brilliant as she had hoped. When she was born in 1899, she seemed destined to be a winner—a woman who did everything right. She graduated with honors from a prestigious college and earned a law degree. There seemed nothing to keep her from achieving her dream of becoming a notable political leader. But two things held her back—her gender and her race.

Eunice Hunton grew up in a prosperous family. Her father was the founder of the Black division of the YMCA and traveled both in the United States and internationally for his work.  Segregation and prejudice affected every aspect of her family’s lives, but they did not allow these disadvantages to deter them. They built themselves an alternative world in which they could live reasonably comfortably—just as long as they did not step outside the rigid boundaries of the times. Eunice attended Smith College, worked as a social worker for a few years, and then decided to become a lawyer. She became the first Black woman to receive a law degree from Fordham University. Along the way, she married a prosperous African American dentist and changed her name to Eunice Hunton Carter.

Continuing her list of firsts, Eunice Carter soon became the first Black female Assistant District Attorney in New York State where she worked under the direction of the New York’s ambitious special prosecutor, Thomas E. Dewey. Assigned to cover the women’s court, as most female lawyers were at the time, she dealt mainly with prostitution cases. She soon realized that the prostitutes and brothel keepers who appeared before her cycled through the court system quickly. They seldom spent much time in jail or paid large fines.

Although most of her associates thought that most prostitutes and brothel keepers worked independently, Carter recognized that the entire operation must be protected by bosses who had a web of corrupt police officers and lawyers under their control. Slowly and carefully she built up her case, taking testimony from the prostitutes and finding connections between them and the city-wide mob that controlled much of the crime in the city.

After Eunice Carter had built up a strong case against the major Mob boss, Lucky Luciana, she brought her findings to Dewey. The resulting trial was one of New York’s most highly publicized and important cases of the 1930s, but Carter was not allowed to participate in it. Despite all the work that she had done, Dewey decided to handle the prosecution himself and appointed several white, male lawyers to be his assistants. The prosecution was successful, the Mob was dealt a severe blow, and Dewey’s political career took off.

Eunice Carter continued to be a loyal associate of Thomas Dewey and watched him ascend the political ladder to become governor of New York and run in two Presidential elections. She rallied the African American vote and supported his ambitions but was never appointed to any important post in his administration. She lived her life as a supporting figure.   

Now Carter’s grandson, Stephen L. Carter, a Yale Law School professor has written a biography, Invisible; The Forgotten Story of the Black Woman Lawyer Who Took Down America’s Most Powerful Mobster. It tells the story of Eunice Hunton Carter and paints an unforgettable picture of life in mid-twentieth century New York. Now that the country has at last become more aware of the terrible waste caused by racist policies, it is time to honor Eunice Hunton Carter, one of the many gifted people who have suffered from America’s divisive policies.