Born in Memphis, Tennessee, McRae received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Vanderbilt University in 1943 and was a United States Naval Reserve Lieutenant during World War II, from 1943 to 1946.
[1] McRae was nominated by President Lyndon B. Johnson on September 22, 1966, to a seat on the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee vacated by Judge Marion Speed Boyd.
He was confirmed by the United States Senate on October 20, 1966, and received his commission on November 3, 1966.
McRae served in that capacity until his death on June 25, 2004.
[1] One of McRae's notable cases was Northcross v. Board of Education, which implemented desegregation busing in the now defunct Memphis City Schools.