Hubert Thomas Delany
Hubert Thomas Delany (/dəˈleɪni/; May 11, 1901 – December 28, 1990) was an American lawyer and civil rights pioneer, and politician. He served as Assistant U.S. Attorney, the first African American appointed as Tax Commissioner of New York and one of the first African Americans appointed as a judge in New York City. Judge Delany was on the board of Directors for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), and the Harlem YMCA, and became an active leader in the Harlem Renaissance. He also served as a Vice President of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund.
Hon. Hubert Thomas Delany | |
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Delany in 1938 | |
| Born | May 11, 1901 Raleigh, North Carolina |
| Died | December 28, 1990 (aged 89) Manhattan, New York |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | City College of New York B.A. NYU School of Law J.D. |
| Occupation(s) | Lawyer, Assistant U.S. Attorney, Tax Commissioner, Justice of New York City Domestic Relations Court, Civil Rights Advocate |
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Delany graduated from the City College of New York in 1923. He received his law degree from New York University School of Law in 1926 and was a member of Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity, the first Greek-letter organization to be founded by African-American men. Delany had a long career serving as both a justice in the New York City Domestic Relations Court as well as an attorney and adviser to civil rights activists Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., US Congressman Adam Clayton Powell Jr., and poet Langston Hughes. He also advised clients in the entertainment and sports industries, including famed opera singer Marian Anderson, singer and actor Paul Robeson, cartoonist E. Simms Campbell, bandleader Cab Calloway, and Major League Baseball color line breaker Jackie Robinson.