W. E. B. Dubois Award Recipient - 2006

 Attorney Constance Iona Slaughter-Harvey

W.E.B DuBois Award Recipient

Attorney Constance Iona  Slaughter-Harvey, a native of Forest, Mississippi, is a graduate of Hawkins High School and Tougaloo College.  While at Tougaloo, she was elected President of the Student Government Association becoming the first female to serve in that capacity.  On January 27, 1970, she became the first African American female to receive a law degree from  the University of Mississippi.

After graduation, Attorney Slaughter-Harvey joined the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law as a staff attorney and worked there until 1972 when she returned to Forest and established her private law practice.  She served as Executive Director of Southern Legal Rights and later became Director of East Mississippi Legal Services.

In 1980, Attorney Slaughter-Harvey joined the staff of Governor William Winter as Director of Human Development. In 1984, she became Assistant Secretary of State for Elections and Public Lands with Secretary of State, Dick Molpus.  Together, she and Molpus reformed Sixteenth Section School and Public Trust Lands, and lobbied for Mail-In Voter Registration (signed into law on April 1, 1991).  Attorney Slaughter-Harvey led the fight for Motor Voter Registration and became a member of the National Motor Voter Advisory Board.  In 1991, she was promoted to General Counsel and continued to serve as Assistant Secretary of Elections.

In 1995, Attorney Slaughter-Harvey became the Coordinator of the Mississippi State Democratic Party and responsible for the campaigns of all Democratic candidates in State.   In 1996, she returned to her law practice and became President of Elections, Inc., a position she currently holds.  She is also President of the Slaughter Memorial Foundation.  In this capacity, Attorney Slaughter-Harvey supervises programs in after-school tutorial and enhancement, abstinence, and several other youth initiatives.

For the past 35 years, Attorney Slaughter-Harvey served as Adjunct Professor at Tougaloo College.  In November 1999, she was honored with the establishment of the Constance Slaughter-Harvey Endowed Chair in Political Science/Pre-Law at Tougaloo College by banker and friends, Thomas Colbert and wife Ann.

In 1998, the University of Mississippi’s Black Law Student Association was named in her honor.  Attorney Slaughter-Harvey is past President of the Magnolia Bar Association and recipient of the prestigious R. J. Brown Award.  She has extensive achievements, awards, and honors.  A partial list is provided below:

•         Listed among the many affiliations and memberships of Attorney Slaughter-Harvey are the Mississippi Bar Association, and the Magnolia Bar Association (Past President).  Life memberships include the NAACP, Girl Scouts of America, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and the National Federation of Colored Women’s Clubs.  She is a former member of Tougaloo College’s Board of Trustees, East Central Federated Women’s Club (President), National Council of Negro Women, Board of Directors of The Elections Center, Mississippi Federation of Democratic Women,  Southern Christian Services for Children and Youth, Inc.’s Board of Directors, Mississippi Catholic Diocesan Pastoral Council, Catholic Diocesan Planning Committee, Jackson Catholic Charities Advisory Board of Directors, W. L. Slaughter Memorial Foundation, Inc., O. K. Slaughter Library Board of Directors (President), Mississippi Humanities Council (Board Member from 1976-1989), Scott County Bar Association (President), Forest  Rotary Club, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, State Legal Service Planning Committee (2003-2004), and Scott County Times Columnist and Advisory Board Member.

Some of the contributions in the field of law made by Attorney Slaughter-Harvey include Morrow  v. Crisler, July 1970 (Highway Patrol Desegregation Lawsuit); Gates  v. Collier in 1970 (co-counsel with Roy Haber-Lawyer Committee for Civil Rights Under Law) - Parchman lawsuit; $3.8 million federal lawsuit Myrtle Green Burton v. John Bell Williams against state and other defendants for wrongful deaths of Jackson State student, Phillip Gibbs and Jim Hill student, James Earl Green; numerous police brutality actions from 1970-1973, including Washington v. Noble; served as co-counsel in numerous redistricting actions and desegregation lawsuits and was one of the original attorneys in the Jake Ayers vs. State of Mississippi lawsuit.  She was selected Special Chancellor to preside  over  a  child  support  custody  case (1976),  thus  becoming  the first  African  American appointed to serve as Judge in Mississippi.  She was one of the founders and incorporators of East Mississippi Legal Services, and was a member of Community Legal Services Board for 10 years.

Attorney   Slaughter-Harvey is a past President of the Magnolia Bar Association, Mississippi Bar Foundation Fellow (1999), current President of Scott County Bar Association, and Vice Chair of Mississippi Supreme Court Gender Task Force.  She is also a member of the 8^th Judicial Circuit District Drug Court Team.  For the past two years, Attorney Slaughter-Harvey has been involved in nursing home trial litigation and has received several jury verdicts in excess of $9 million.

Governmental achievements include service on the Governor’s Minority Advisory Committee under Governor William Waller (1974), Regional Presidential Team Coordinator for party nominee Jimmy Carter (1976), Fair Hearings Officer for Mississippi Health Planning and Development Agency under Governor Cliff Finch (1977), Appointment by President Jimmy Carter (1978) as a Presidential Scholars Commissioner, Executive Director of the Governor’s Office of Human Development under Governor William Winter where she consolidated six agencies into one department (1980-1984), Assisted in implementation of the first Block Grant Program in Mississippi, Mail-In-Voter Registration (1980-1991) which ended with the passage of the Mail-In-Voter Registration Act (1991), Provided a community network for Governor Winter’s Public School Reform Act (1981-1982), Appointed Assistant Secretary of State for Elections and Public Lands  (1984), Coordinated Election Reform Task Force (1984-1985), Initiated Sixteenth Section School Reform Program (1984), Assistant Secretary of State for Public Lands where she reported a 2 million dollar increase in Sixteenth Section School Trust lands (1987), Initiated Public Trust Lands Project that resulted in the creation of the Public Trust Lands Blue Ribbon Commission (1988), Promoted to General Counsel and Assistant Secretary of State for Elections by Secretary of State Dick Molpus (1989), Founder and Elected President of the National Association of State Election Directors (NASED, 1991)–becoming first African American and first female, Member of Motor Voter National Advisory Board which consisted of 12 members (1995), and Coordinator of the Mississippi State Democratic Party Coordinating Committee (1995) becoming responsible for the campaigns of all candidates in the state and serving as Campaign Manager for more than 50 local campaigns including campaigns that resulted in first African American Female officer holders in the city of Forest, Scott County, and Leake County.

Attorney Slaughter-Harvey, a member of Saint Michael Catholic Church, is the daughter of the late Forest Alderman W. L. and Olivia Kelly Slaughter.  In tribute to their legacy, a foundation, library, residential subdivision, and an office building have been established. Additionally, Attorney Harvey-Slaughter is an author and a local and national public speaker.  She is a columnist for the Scott County Times.  This position holds special significance for Attorney Harvey-Slaughter because it responds to a request from her mother, Mrs. Olivia K. Slaughter, the first African American columnist for the Scott County Times, who asked Attorney Harvey-Slaughter to continue her work by serving in this capacity.

Attorney Slaughter-Harvey is the mother of Constance Olivia Slaughter-Harvey, an honor graduate of Tougaloo College and master’s degree candidate at Chicago State University.  Constance is president of The Olivia Group.

The Association of Social and Behavioral Scientists proudly salutes Attorney Constance Slaughter-Harvey for her pioneering personal achievements in removing both racial and sexual barriers; it honors her outstanding accomplishments in improving the overall conditions of black people in Mississippi, and it appreciates her amazing contributions which are evidenced in her exemplary devotion to the cause of Black America and to the betterment of race relations in the world.  We, the members of the Association of Social and Behavioral Scientists, consider it a privilege to join so many others in honoring Attorney Constance Slaughter-Harvey for her activist spirit, her humanitarian nature, and her profound concern for the plight of Black America.

After graduation, Attorney Slaughter-Harvey joined the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law as a staff attorney and worked there until 1972 when she returned to Forest and established her private law practice.  She served as Executive Director of Southern Legal Rights and later became Director of East Mississippi Legal Services.

In 1980, Attorney Slaughter-Harvey joined the staff of Governor William Winter as Director of Human Development. In 1984, she became Assistant Secretary of State for Elections and Public Lands with Secretary of State, Dick Molpus.  Together, she and Molpus reformed Sixteenth Section School and Public Trust Lands, and lobbied for Mail-In Voter Registration (signed into law on April 1, 1991).  Attorney Slaughter-Harvey led the fight for Motor Voter Registration and became a member of the National Motor Voter Advisory Board.  In 1991, she was promoted to General Counsel and continued to serve as Assistant Secretary of Elections.

In 1995, Attorney Slaughter-Harvey became the Coordinator of the Mississippi State Democratic Party and responsible for the campaigns of all Democratic candidates in State.   In 1996, she returned to her law practice and became President of Elections, Inc., a position she currently holds.  She is also President of the Slaughter Memorial Foundation.  In this capacity, Attorney Slaughter-Harvey supervises programs in after-school tutorial and enhancement, abstinence, and several other youth initiatives.

For the past 35 years, Attorney Slaughter-Harvey served as Adjunct Professor at Tougaloo College.  In November 1999, she was honored with the establishment of the Constance Slaughter-Harvey Endowed Chair in Political Science/Pre-Law at Tougaloo College by banker and friends, Thomas Colbert and wife Ann.

In 1998, the University of Mississippi’s Black Law Student Association was named in her honor.  Attorney Slaughter-Harvey is past President of the Magnolia Bar Association and recipient of the prestigious R. J. Brown Award.  She has extensive achievements, awards, and honors.  A partial list is provided below:

•         Listed among the many affiliations and memberships of Attorney Slaughter-Harvey are the Mississippi Bar Association, and the Magnolia Bar Association (Past President).  Life memberships include the NAACP, Girl Scouts of America, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and the National Federation of Colored Women’s Clubs.  She is a former member of Tougaloo College’s Board of Trustees, East Central Federated Women’s Club (President), National Council of Negro Women, Board of Directors of The Elections Center, Mississippi Federation of Democratic Women,  Southern Christian Services for Children and Youth, Inc.’s Board of Directors, Mississippi Catholic Diocesan Pastoral Council, Catholic Diocesan Planning Committee, Jackson Catholic Charities Advisory Board of Directors, W. L. Slaughter Memorial Foundation, Inc., O. K. Slaughter Library Board of Directors (President), Mississippi Humanities Council (Board Member from 1976-1989), Scott County Bar Association (President), Forest  Rotary Club, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, State Legal Service Planning Committee (2003-2004), and Scott County Times Columnist and Advisory Board Member.

Some of the contributions in the field of law made by Attorney Slaughter-Harvey include Morrow  v. Crisler, July 1970 (Highway Patrol Desegregation Lawsuit); Gates  v. Collier in 1970 (co-counsel with Roy Haber-Lawyer Committee for Civil Rights Under Law) - Parchman lawsuit; $3.8 million federal lawsuit Myrtle Green Burton v. John Bell Williams against state and other defendants for wrongful deaths of Jackson State student, Phillip Gibbs and Jim Hill student, James Earl Green; numerous police brutality actions from 1970-1973, including Washington v. Noble; served as co-counsel in numerous redistricting actions and desegregation lawsuits and was one of the original attorneys in the Jake Ayers vs. State of Mississippi lawsuit.  She was selected Special Chancellor to preside  over  a  child  support  custody  case (1976),  thus  becoming  the first  African  American appointed to serve as Judge in Mississippi.  She was one of the founders and incorporators of East Mississippi Legal Services, and was a member of Community Legal Services Board for 10 years.

Attorney   Slaughter-Harvey is a past President of the Magnolia Bar Association, Mississippi Bar Foundation Fellow (1999), current President of Scott County Bar Association, and Vice Chair of Mississippi Supreme Court Gender Task Force.  She is also a member of the 8^th Judicial Circuit District Drug Court Team.  For the past two years, Attorney Slaughter-Harvey has been involved in nursing home trial litigation and has received several jury verdicts in excess of $9 million.

Governmental achievements include service on the Governor’s Minority Advisory Committee under Governor William Waller (1974), Regional Presidential Team Coordinator for party nominee Jimmy Carter (1976), Fair Hearings Officer for Mississippi Health Planning and Development Agency under Governor Cliff Finch (1977), Appointment by President Jimmy Carter (1978) as a Presidential Scholars Commissioner, Executive Director of the Governor’s Office of Human Development under Governor William Winter where she consolidated six agencies into one department (1980-1984), Assisted in implementation of the first Block Grant Program in Mississippi, Mail-In-Voter Registration (1980-1991) which ended with the passage of the Mail-In-Voter Registration Act (1991), Provided a community network for Governor Winter’s Public School Reform Act (1981-1982), Appointed Assistant Secretary of State for Elections and Public Lands  (1984), Coordinated Election Reform Task Force (1984-1985), Initiated Sixteenth Section School Reform Program (1984), Assistant Secretary of State for Public Lands where she reported a 2 million dollar increase in Sixteenth Section School Trust lands (1987), Initiated Public Trust Lands Project that resulted in the creation of the Public Trust Lands Blue Ribbon Commission (1988), Promoted to General Counsel and Assistant Secretary of State for Elections by Secretary of State Dick Molpus (1989), Founder and Elected President of the National Association of State Election Directors (NASED, 1991)–becoming first African American and first female, Member of Motor Voter National Advisory Board which consisted of 12 members (1995), and Coordinator of the Mississippi State Democratic Party Coordinating Committee (1995) becoming responsible for the campaigns of all candidates in the state and serving as Campaign Manager for more than 50 local campaigns including campaigns that resulted in first African American Female officer holders in the city of Forest, Scott County, and Leake County.

Attorney Slaughter-Harvey, a member of Saint Michael Catholic Church, is the daughter of the late Forest Alderman W. L. and Olivia Kelly Slaughter.  In tribute to their legacy, a foundation, library, residential subdivision, and an office building have been established. Additionally, Attorney Harvey-Slaughter is an author and a local and national public speaker.  She is a columnist for the Scott County Times.  This position holds special significance for Attorney Harvey-Slaughter because it responds to a request from her mother, Mrs. Olivia K. Slaughter, the first African American columnist for the Scott County Times, who asked Attorney Harvey-Slaughter to continue her work by serving in this capacity.

Attorney Slaughter-Harvey is the mother of Constance Olivia Slaughter-Harvey, an honor graduate of Tougaloo College and master’s degree candidate at Chicago State University.  Constance is president of The Olivia Group.