I got the chance to argue my first case in Supreme Court, a criminal case arising in Alabama that involved the right of a defendant to counsel at a critical stage in a capital case before a trial.

Had it not been for James Meredith, who was willing to risk his life, the University of Mississippi would still be all white.

When I was 15, I decided I wanted to be a lawyer. No one thought this was a good idea

The fact is that racism, despite all the doomsayers, has diminished

Whites would rather not be involved in race matters, I think.

The last state to admit a black student to the college level was South Carolina

In high school, I won a prize for an essay on tuberculosis. When I got through writing the essay, I was sure I had the disease.