![Interview with Hon. Ernest Adolphus Finney, Jr. - OH 365](https://digitalcommons.winthrop.edu/oralhistoryprogram/1317/thumbnail.jpg)
Interviewer
Michael A. Cooke
Files
Download Interview (30.2 MB)
Abstract
Honorable Ernest Adolphus Finney, Jr. (1931-2017) represented the “Friendship Nine,” which was a group of Friendship College students attested during a sit-in protest at the McCrory’s lunch counter in Rock Hill, South Carolina. Hon. Finney later became the first African American appointed to the South Carolina Supreme Court since Reconstruction and served from 1985 through 2000 and served as Chief Justice of South Carolina from 1994-2000.
This interview was conducted for the South Carolina Legislative Black Caucus. In this interview, Justice Finney describes his early life, education, and his law practice. He was a teacher in Conway during the 1950s due to racial discrimination making it hard for a black lawyer to get work. He describes how he and his family got involved with politics and worked with members of the Sumter county community to increase the amount of people registered to vote. He discusses the civil rights movement, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the state of the black community during this time. He talks about his experiences during the special sessions of 1973, during which South Carolina tried to reapportion its numbers in the House of Representatives. He discusses his involvement in the development of a black caucus for South Carolina and the impact it had on the state.
Publication Date
7-2-1984
Unique Identifier
OH 365
Format
1 Cassette; MP3; WAV;
Length
00:32:58
Restrictions
This interview is open for use
Series
Politics
Disciplines
Oral History
Keywords
South Carolina Legislative Black Caucus
Recommended Citation
Finney, Ernest Adolphus Jr., "Interview with Hon. Ernest Adolphus Finney, Jr. - OH 365" (1984). Winthrop University Oral History Program. OH 365.
https://digitalcommons.winthrop.edu/oralhistoryprogram/316
![Interview with Hon. Ernest Adolphus Finney, Jr. - OH 365](https://digitalcommons.winthrop.edu/oralhistoryprogram/1317/thumbnail.jpg)