Tucker, Samuel Wilbert, 1913-1990

Samuel Wilbert Tucker (1913-1990), a Richmond civil-rights lawyer active in desegregation efforts in Virginia in the 1950s and 1960s, was the senior member of the Richmond law firm of Hill, Tucker and Marsh [which included Oliver W. Hill and Henry Marsh]. Tucker was also active in the NAACP, serving as chairman of the legal staff of the Virginia State Conference and representing Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia on the National Board of Directors.Tucker, a native of Alexandria, Virginia, was born June 18, 1913. He graduated from Howard University in 1933 and began practicing law in Alexandria the following year. In 1939 he represented five young African Americans who had attempted to use the Alexandria library. Following a series of cases that left the situation unresolved, the city established a separate library for African Americans. During World War II he served in the 366th Infantry in Italy from 1941-1945. During the 1950s and 1960s, Tucker participated in litigation against more than 50 county and city school boards to compel desegregation of public schools and argued more than 30 cases before the U.S. Court of Appeals. He died October 19, 1990.