Constance Baker Motley was a pioneering civil rights activist, lawyer, and judge who played a significant role in the legal battle for equal rights in the United States. She was the first African American woman to serve as a federal judge.

Motley began her legal career as a law clerk for Thurgood Marshall at the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, where she worked on numerous groundbreaking civil rights cases, including the landmark Brown v. Board of Education case that ended racial segregation in public schools.

Motley later became the first African American woman to serve in the New York State Senate and the first woman to be elected president of the Manhattan Borough. In 1966, she was appointed as a federal judge, making her the first African American woman to hold such a position.

Throughout her career, Motley fought tirelessly for equality and justice, using the law as a tool to challenge segregation and discrimination. Her work paved the way for future generations of African American women in the legal profession and beyond.