First Round Victory
This file appears in: Richard D. (R.D.) Evans
Sublett v. Duke marked the first occasion African-Americans resorted to the courts to contest the white primary, and the African-American press celebrated the “knock out blow” Evans provided it. However, the initial victory proved short-lived. It prompted backlash from white Texans who moved to close the legal loopholes that enabled Waco’s black community to vote in the wake of Sublett. Evans' work in this contest continued for decades.
This file appears in: Richard D. (R.D.) Evans
Richard D. (R.D.) Evans
Long before President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act of 1965, attorney Richard D. (R.D.) Evans waged the fight for civil rights from his Waco law office. As Waco’s first African American attorney, he became one of the most…