Lawrence Aaron Nixon
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Lawrence Aaron Nixon | |
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| Born | February 9, 1883 Marshall, Texas |
| Died | March 6, 1966 (aged 83) |
| Cause of death | Accident |
| Nationality | American |
| Citizenship | United States |
| Alma mater |
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| Occupation | Physician |
| Children | 4 |
Lawrence Aaron Nixon (February 9, 1883 - March 6, 1966) was a doctor in El Paso, Texas who twice fought state election laws barring African American from voting in Democrat Party primaries in Texas all the way to the United States Supreme Court. He was never allowed to join the El Paso Medical Society because of his African American heritage.[1]
Nixon was born in Marshall, Texas.[2] He studied at Wiley College in Marshall and received his M.D. degree in 1906 from Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee. He became a doctor in Cameron, Texas.[2] He left Cameron in 1909 and settled in El Paso.[3]
Nixon was refused a ballot for the Democrat Party primary after 1923 legislation known as Terrell Election Law and filed a lawsuit with NAACP backing in what became the 1927 U.S. Supreme Court case Nixon v. Herndon. After winning that case in the U.S. Supreme Court and the Texas Legislature passing new legislation to the same effect was again denied a ballot and pursued Nixon v. Condon all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1932 and received another ruling his favor.[4][5] The restrictions were found to target African American voters and to violate the 14th Amendment.[6]
Personal life
Nixon became a widower, remarried, and had four children. He died in an auto accident.[2]
References
- ↑ Long, Trish. "91 years since El Paso physician tried to vote and then changed history". El Paso Times.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "TSHA | Nixon, Lawrence Aaron". www.tshaonline.org.
- ↑ Guzmán, Will (2015). Civil Rights in the Texas Borderlands. University of Illinois Press. ISBN 9780252038921. JSTOR 10.5406/j.ctt155jmhv.
- ↑ "FindLaw's United States Supreme Court case and opinions". Findlaw.
- ↑ "FindLaw's United States Supreme Court case and opinions". Findlaw.
- ↑ Long, Trish. "10 El Paso cases that reached the U.S. Supreme Court". El Paso Times.
External links
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