White, Paul Dunbar
(born: 1917 - died: 1997)Paul Dunbar White was born in LaGrange, KY, the son of Reverend Isham H. White and Florence Harris White.
In 1963, White was the first African American judge elected [never appointed] to the Cleveland (OH) Municipal Court. He also served as Director of Law in Cleveland, hired in 1967 by Carl B. Stokes, the first African American mayor of a major city in the U.S.
In 1968, White became the first African American lawyer in a major Cleveland firm, Baker & Hostetler, and was made partner in 1970. The firm established the Paul D. White Scholarship in 1997.
Paul D. White was a 1940 graduate of Kentucky State College [now Kentucky State University], where he played on the championship football team as a fullback, then later played professionally for one season in Indianapolis, IN. White was also a 1950 graduate of Western Reserve Law School [now Case Western Reserve University, School of Law] and following his graduation, was hired by Kentucky native and Cleveland attorney Jean Capers. White was also a minister.
For more see The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History [online], sponsored by Case Western Reserve University and the Western Reserve Historical Society; and the The Plain Dealer articles - - R. M. Peery, "Paul Dunbar White, 79, Judge, City Law Director," 9/26/1997, Obituaries, p. 11B, and P. Morris, "The judge inspired, but he never knew," 9/30/1997, Editorials & Forum section, p. 9B.