George William Crockett Jr. (August 10, 1909 – September 7, 1997) was an African-American attorney, jurist, and congressman from the U.S. state of Michigan.

Minnie, a gentle woman, Sunday School teacher and poet, said in a November 23, 1969, Times-Union Journal (Jacksonville) article, "My philosophy is that children should be ahead of their parents, should climb a step higher and make a contribution to the family and to society."

[5] In 1948, Crockett became a member of the legal team that went to New York for the Foley Square trial to defend 11 Communist Party leaders accused of teaching the overthrow of the Federal government, a violation of the Smith Act.

Among the 11 were Communist Party leaders: Gil Green, Eugene Dennis, Henry Winston, John Gates, Gus Hall, Robert G. Thompson and fellow Morehouse alumnus and first black New York City Councilman Benjamin J. Davis.

In 1949, while defending the Smith Act prosecution, Crockett and four other defense attorneys were sentenced by Judge Harold Medina to Federal prison for contempt of court.

Crockett's criticism of McCarthyism and the House Un-American Activities Committee grew after that case, and in 1952 he represented future Detroit mayor Coleman Young and the Rev.

The infamous murders of the civil rights workers James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner occurred in June of that year.

Collaborating with local white supremacist vigilantes, the Neshoba County sheriff released the three men from jail late at night, and other civil rights workers reported their disappearance.

The effort was in vain, and, years later, Crockett described his growing despair in the 1995 PBS documentary Mississippi America, narrated by Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee.

He survived an effort of the sheriff to arrange his ambush by loudly offering driving directions, while white supremacists loitered nearby.

From that bench, Judge Crockett incurred the wrath of the white corporate media and endured death threats for his role in a highly publicized police shooting, raid, and mass arrest.

Later, Crockett continued to denounce apartheid in South Africa and was jailed with Detroit Mayor Coleman A.

On Wednesday, March 28, 1990, Crockett, who was affectionately called "Judge" by his House colleagues, announced on the House Floor: "Mr. Speaker, a few days ago the press carried the story on the death of the Honorable Harold Medina, who was the judge who presided over the famous communist trials in New York back in 1949 and 1950.

Representative John Conyers, also from Detroit, described Crockett's announcement by saying "When he finished, all the members stood and clapped".

George Jr. had nine grandchildren: Wayne, Charles, Kyra, Iyisa, Kimberly, Kelly, LeBeau and Enrique, and eight great-grandchildren.

In 1972, the Cotillion Club of Detroit, co-founded in 1949 by Dr. William Emmett Lawson, presented an award to Crockett, attorney Kenneth Cockrel, and Judge Damon Keith.

In 1986, awarded annual the Kappa Alpha Psi Laural Wreath Commission for extra meritorious achievement.

The George W. Crockett Jr. Community Law School is a public education program sponsored by the NAACP Detroit Branch.