In 1976, he had been the first African-American attorney from the Deep South to be appointed to the federal judiciary when he served on the United States Court of Military Appeals.

Perry established his career with civil rights litigation, defending Gloria Blackwell in Orangeburg, South Carolina, in her 1962 suit against her arrest for sitting in the whites-only area of the regional hospital while waiting for emergency treatment for her daughter.

Born in Columbia, South Carolina, Perry attended local segregated schools and started college studying business.

He finished college after the war, receiving a Bachelor of Science degree from South Carolina State University in 1948.

"[2] Perry gained notoriety by representing Gloria Blackwell, an African-American teacher in Orangeburg, South Carolina, who was arrested with her daughter Lurma Rackley for sitting in a "whites only" waiting room while awaiting emergency treatment for the girl.

Perry also led a major South Carolina reapportionment case in 1972, to require redistricting in order to more fairly represent urban areas in relation to their population, based on the "one man, one vote" principle.

Perry ran for the United States House of Representatives as a Democrat in 1974, but lost to Republican incumbent Floyd Spence.

Chief United States District Judge Joseph Anderson once wrote "to say that Matthew Perry was good in the courtroom is like saying Mickey Mantle knew how to swing a bat .