1923-1997
Marie B. Johnson, of Newark, was one of the first African American women in NJ to be admitted to the NJ bar in 1949 with Martha Belle Williams. When they graduated they made the front page of the Newark News and Bernadine said she had “dreamed of this since I was a little girl…Oh gee! I’m still trembling!”
Bernadine practiced with her father, who was also a lawyer, as well as on her own.
Bernadine was appointed to the US Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency (1955) and was the first woman appointed to the Newark Alcohol Beverage Control Board (1961). She was also counsel for the NJ State Federation of Colored Women’s Clubs.
In 1955 she was identified by Mademoiselle as the only Black woman practicing on Capitol Hill at the time, and the youngest woman practicing.
Bernadine was born in Trenton. She graduated West Side High School in Newark and then NJ Law School (now Rutgers) in Newark.
Bernardine served on the Board of Directors of Blue Cross Blue Shield for 13 years. She was active in the Urban League, YMCA, Zonta, and the National Association of Negro Business and Professional Women’s Clubs. She also served on the Board of the Girls’ Center of Essex County and was a member of the Essex County Mental Health Association and Planned Parenthood. She helped create the Carver Youth Center in Trenton in 1978.
Bibliography
A History of Remarkable Women Rutgers
“First Negro Women Pass Bar Test” Newark News Nov 10, 1949
M-22, Marshall, M. Bernadine Johnson, Newark News Morgue, Newark Public Library
“Jersey Gets Two Portias To Plead Your Case” Afro American Nov 19, 1949
Star Ledger extensive coverage including “M Bernadine Marshall trailblazer in legal arena” September 20, 1997 and “Black Pioneers Made History in the Law” (Charles Cummings” Feb 17, 2005
Scarlet and Black: Vol 3
Photo credit Newark Library
Lerner, Anne “Newark Girl to Join Her Father’s Firm” Star Ledger Nov 11, 1949