Meeks, Cordell D., 1914-1987

Cordell D. Meeks was born 25 Sept 1914 in Little Rock, Arkansas to Reverend and Mrs. C. A. Meeks. After the family moved to Kansas City, Kansas, Meeks attended that city's public schools (Garrison, Douglass, Northeast Junior High, and Sumner High). He then went on to the University of Kansas, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science in 1937 and, in 1940, a Juris Doctorate. After graduating, Meeks worked in a private law practice in Kansas City, Kansas, opening his own office there in 1941. From 1947 to 1951, Meeks worked as an assistant District Attorney; seven years later, in 1958, he became a senior partner in the firm of Meeks, Gray, Franklin, Smith, & Whyte. In 1972, Meeks was elected Wyandotte County District Court judge, a position he held until his 1 Jan 1981 retirement. His election to the position made him the first African American elected to a Kansas District Court. In 1971, he was recommended for the Kansas State Supreme Court.

In 1950, Meeks was elected Wyandotte County Commissioner; he served in that position for twenty-four years. He was elected Chairman of the Board in 1965. Meeks was also highly active in various organizations, including: First A.M.E. Church, where he served on the Trustee Board, the NAACP, and the Democratic Party, for which he was a National Convention delegate in both 1949 and 1954.

On 22 Dec 1940, Meeks married Cellastine Brown (1917-) of Topeka, Kansas. The couple had four children: Marlene, Cordell Jr., Marcena, and Marquita. Cordell D. Meeks, Sr. died in 1987.

The Meeks' son, Cordell Jr., followed his father into the legal profession. Born circa 1943, he graduated from Sumner High School in 1960 and went on to earn both his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science (1964) and law degree (1967) from the University of Kansas. Following postgraduate work at the University of Pennsylvania, Meeks Jr began practicing law in Kansas City, Kansas in 1970 and, in 1976, became a municipal judge. In 1968, he joined the Kansas National Guard where he went on to become an Assistant Judge-Advocate General; later, he graduated from the Command and General Staff College at Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas and reached the rank of Colonel. Meeks Jr. was also active in numerous organizations, serving as president of the Mental Health Association, Legal Aid, KU Law Society, and the Wyandotte Law Library. He was also on the executive committees for the KS American Lung Association and the Greater Kansas City Region of the National Conference of Christians and Jews and on the board of directors of the Wyandotte County United Way and Children's Mercy Hospital (Kansas City, Missouri), where he was chairman of the board. In 1995, his service work was rewarded with the University of Kansas' Distinguished Service Citation; and, in 2001, he received the School of Law's Distinguished Alumnus Citation. Meeks, Jr. married Mary Ann Sutherland and the couple had one son, Cordell III. Cordell Meeks, Jr. died 28 June 2006.

Marlene Meeks worked as a teacher in the Kansas City, Missouri school district and married Rudolph Shelby. Marcena Meeks married Luther Chandler and owned the Sunshine Day Care Center, also in Kansas City, Missouri. Marquita Meeks married Cartrell Cross and became a professional violinist based in Houston, Texas.

From the guide to the Cordell Meeks, Sr. Family Papers, 1935-2005, 1935-2005, (University of Kansas Kenneth Spencer Research Library Kansas Collection)