Civilrights.org

Charlotte E. Ray graduated from Howard Law School on February 27, 1872, becoming not only the first female African-American lawyer in the United States but also the first practicing female lawyer in Washington, D.C.

Ray was born in 1850 in New York City, where her father worked as a minister and was a prominent abolitionist. She attended the Institution for the Education of Colored Youth in Washington, D.C., one of the few educational institutions in the country that educated African-American girls.

In 1869, Ray began teaching at Howard University, which was established in 1867 to educate emancipated slaves and their decedents. During her first year of teaching, Ray was accepted into the Howard School of Law, where she applied under the name "C.E. Ray" because the university was reluctant to admit women to its law program.

Upon graduating in 1872, Ray opened a law practice, specializing in commercial law. However, Ray was unable to maintain her practice due to race and gender discrimination.  She returned to New York in 1879 where she worked as a teacher in Brooklyn. She was active in the women's suffrage movement until her death at age 60.

President Obama signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act into law this morning, making it easier for employees to challenge pay discrimination in court.

The law reverses a damaging Supreme Court decision in Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. that restricted an employee's ability to file claims to 180 days from the date that the first discriminatory pay decision was made. This law makes clear that each discriminatory paycheck is a separate act of discrimination that can be challenged in court.

The law "reestablishes the law’s incentive for employers to correct discriminatory pay practices.  Employers will no longer have the free pass to continue to discriminate against their employees without ever having to worry about being held accountable," said Marcia Greenberger, co-president of the National Women's Law Center, in a statement.

Obama was joined at the signing by Lilly Ledbetter, after whom the law is named. Ledbetter worked for Goodyear for almost 20 years before learning that she had been paid less than her male colleagues. In 2007, the Supreme Court ruled that Ledbetter had filed her discrimination complaint too late and could not receive damages from her employer.

The House is expected to vote tomorrow on the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and the Paycheck Fairness Act, which would restore and strengthen equal pay laws.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D. Calif., and Reps. George Miller, D. Calif., and Rosa DeLauro, D. Conn., joined LCCR, the National Women's Law Center, and Supreme Court plaintiff Lilly Ledbetter in urging swift passage of the bills.

The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act would fix a damaging Supreme Court decision and restore the long-standing rule recognizing each discriminatory paycheck as a separate act of discrimination that can be challenged. The Paycheck Fairness Act would close loopholes in and strengthen the Equal Pay Act.

"American workers need to know that they will be treated fairly and equitably, especially in these trying economic times," said Wade Henderson, president and CEO of LCCR.

In AT&T v. Hulteen, the Supreme Court will decide if AT&T violated the Pregnancy Discrimination Act by not including time spent on pregnancy leave in counting years of service toward the calculation of retirement benefits.

The plaintiffs took leave before passage of the act in 1978, but retired in recent years. They argue that pregnancy leave should be treated the same as other disability leave, and be fully included when calculating years of service. The Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments on Wednesday.