Champion of Civil Rights: Judge John Minor Wisdom – Book review

His name, John Minor Wisdom, was tailor-made for a jurist. And Wisdom, a New Orleanian who served on the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans from 1957 until his death in 1999, is known not only as a judge but as one of the greatest judges of our time. His new biography, written by Tulane Law Professor Joel Friedman, is appropriately titled Champion of Civil Rights, reflecting the universal admiration for his judicial contributions to the civil rights movement.

Not just a history of a Wisdom’s cases, Friedman’s biography is written in conversational prose that intertwines Wisdom’s life, political maneuvering, judicial decisions and intellectual depth into a telling exploration of 20th century New Orleans, politics in Louisiana and the civil rights movement. Wisdom helped rebuild the Louisiana Republican Party and secure the American presidency for Dwight D. Eisenhower, and he worked as a respected trial lawyer until then-President Eisenhower appointed him to the federal bench.

As a judge, Wisdom rendered opinions that pushed back against the South’s segregationalist mentality and reflected, despite a privileged upbringing, his fundamental belief that all people should be treated as equals. But the book, Friedman says, is not just for those interested in the legal profession.

“[It’s] for the average person who’s interested in Southern history, American history, civil rights history, and people who like to read biographies,” he says. “It’s not an encyclopedia of his cases. It’s a book about a person.”