Violette Neatley Anderson (July 16, 1882 – December 24, 1937)[1][2] became the first African-American woman to practice law before the United States Supreme Court on January 29, 1926.

She was one of the most prominent advocates of a landmark piece of legislation that helped secure rights and economic mobility for sharecroppers in the South, the Bankhead-Jones Act.

Violette Neatley Anderson was born in London in 1882 to a German mother and a West Indian father.

[1] She also operated a court reporting agency, as an assistant prosecuting attorney, and became vice-president of the Cook County Bar Association (1920-1926).

[8] No other black Greek-lettered organization (one of the Divine nine) had ever held a national convention south of the Mason-Dixon line .

[8] This was a notable success, acknowledging the fact that the meeting was held in the black business sector of downtown Houston.