Russell Sugarmon

Judge
Russell B. Sugarmon, Jr.
Member of the Tennessee House of Representatives
from the 10th district
In office
1967–1969
Personal details
Born Russell Bertram Sugarmon, Jr.
(1929-05-11) May 11, 1929
Memphis, Tennessee
Political party Democrat
Spouse(s) Mariam DeCosta (divorced)
Regina Spence
Children Tarik Sugarmon
Elena Sugarmon
Erika Sugarmon
Monique Sugarmon
Tina Sugarmon
Carol Sugarmon
Alma mater Morehouse College
Rutgers University
Harvard Law School
Boston University
Occupation Attorney
Judge
Military service
Service/branch U.S. Army
Rank Corporal
Unit Adjutant General Corps

Russell Bertram Sugarmon, Jr.[1] (born May 11, 1929), is an American politician and judge in the state of Tennessee.

Early life

Sugarmon was born in Memphis, Tennessee to Russell and Lessye Hank Sugarmon.[1] He grew up in South Memphis and attended Co-Operative Gammar School.[1]

In 1946, Sugarmon graduated from Booker T. Washington High School when he was 15 years old.[1]

Sugarman attended Morehouse College for one year. He received an A.B. in Political Science from Rutgers University in 1950. In 1953 he received a law degree Harvard Law School and attended Boston University's Graduate School of Finance.[1]

Career

He practiced as an attorney in Memphis, Tennessee in the firm Ratner, Sugarmon, Lucas, Willis and Caldwell.[2][3][4][5]

In 1959, Sugarmon ran for Public Works Commissioner, the first African-American in Memphis to run for a major city office.[6] The outgoing commissioner, Henry Loeb, forced most of the other candidates to withdraw from the election, so as not to split the white vote among several candidates. Bill Ferris, the only white man remaining on the ballot, won the post.[7]

Sugarmon served in the Tennessee House of Representatives as a Democrat from the 11th District from 1967 to 1969.[8]

Personal life

Sugarmon's son, Tarik B. Sugarmon, is a Memphis City Court judge who in 2014 ran for Memphis-Shelby County Juvenile Court.[9]

See also

Works and publications

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 DeCosta-Willis, Miriam (2008). Notable Black Memphians: Sugarmon, Russell Bertram, Jr. Amherst, N.Y.: Cambria Press. pp. 295–297. ISBN 9781624990939. Retrieved 6 May 2014.
  2. "Hon. Russell B. Sugarmon". The History of LawMakers: The Nation's Largest African American Video Oral History Collection. HistoryMakers. Retrieved 6 May 2014.
  3. "Public Collections: Russell B. Sugarmon Collection". Crossroads to Freedom. Retrieved 6 May 2014.
  4. "Judge Russell B. Sugarmon, Jr.". The History of LawMakers: The Nation's Largest African American Video Oral History Collection. HistoryMakers. Retrieved 6 May 2014.
  5. "The HistoryMakers® Video Oral History Interview with Judge Russell B. Sugarmon, Jr." (Finding Aid). The History of LawMakers: The Nation's Largest African American Video Oral History Collection. HistoryMakers. Retrieved 6 May 2014.
  6. Cohen, Hon. Steve (16 January 2014). "Congratulating Judge Russell B. Sugarmon, Jr. on Receiving the 2014 Be the Dream MLK Legacy Award -- Hon. Steve Cohen (Extensions of Remarks - January 16, 2014)". Congressional Record 113th Congress (2013-2014). Library of Congress. p. E84. Retrieved 6 May 2014.
  7. Honey, Michael K. (2007). Going Down Jericho Road : the Memphis strike, Martin Luther King's last campaign (1. ed.). New York [u.a.]: Norton. pp. 30–32. ISBN 9780393043396. Retrieved 6 May 2014.
  8. "Tennessee House Representative 85th General Assembly: R.B. Sugarmon, Jr.". House Archives 1870 to Present. Tennessee General Assembly. Retrieved 6 May 2014.
  9. Dries, Bill (24 March 2014). "Sugarmon Opens Campaign for Juvenile Court Judge". Memphis Daily News. Retrieved 6 May 2014.
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