White, Albert S., Sr. and Sally J. Seals

Albert S. White, Sr. (1869-1911) was born in Kentucky, the son of Albert and Jane Buckner White. White, a graduate of State University [Simmons, KY] and Howard University Law School,  was an attorney and dean of Louisville (KY) Central Law School, where he served from 1896-1911.

White fought for African American voting rights; when White and others insisted on voting in the 1890s, they were beaten by Louisville police officers. In 1902 he was appointed a U.S. Revenue Agent following the election of Kentucky's first Republican governor, William O. Bradley.

White was unsuccessful in his quest to be named the Minister to Liberia. He was killed by Louis A. Evans in a dispute over the removal of personal belongings at the Lyric Theater, located at 13th and Walnut Streets in Louisville. His wife, Sally J. Seals White (born 1868 or 1871 in KY) was the first woman to graduate from Central Law School, where she was also an instructor. In 1904, she became the first African American woman to be admitted to the Kentucky Bar. She had a bachelor's degree from Fisk University.

For more see Central Law School Alumni Information, a University of Louisville website; C. B. Lewis, "Louisville and its Afro-American citizens," Colored American Magazine, vol. 10 (no. 3-4), pp. 259-265; Life Behind a Veil, by G. C. Wright; Emancipation: the making of the Black Lawyer, 1844-1944, by J. C. Smith; "Negro woman admitted to bar...," The Landmark, 9/23/1904, p. 3 (also in Marshall Expounder, 9/23/1904, p. 2); and "Albert S. White is shot to death," Lexington Leader, 7/22/1911, p. 8. See also the entry for Central Law School.