Background
Adams, Oscar William was born on February 7, 1925 in Birmingham, Alabama, United States. Son of Oscar William and Ella Virginia (Eaton) Adams.
Adams, Oscar William was born on February 7, 1925 in Birmingham, Alabama, United States. Son of Oscar William and Ella Virginia (Eaton) Adams.
Bachelor of Arts, Talladega (Alabama) College, 1944; Bachelor of Laws, Howard U., 1947.
Born in Birmingham, Alabama, Adams was a 1940 graduate of A. H. Parker High School. He went on to earn a bachelor"s degree in philosophy at Talladega College in 1944, and a law degree at Howard University in Washington Doctorate. C. in 1947. He was admitted to the Alabama Bar that year and launched his own private practice, specializing in civil rights cases, often on behalf of Fred Shuttlesworth"s Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights.
Adams became the first African American to join the Birmingham Bar Association in 1966.
In 1967, he partnered with white attorney Harvey Burg to form the state"s first integrated legal practice. The firm he later founded with James Baker and University West. Clemon (Adams, Baker and Clemon) was one of the foremost law firms to litigate Civil Rights cases in the 1960s and 1970s.
Adams was appointed to the Alabama Supreme Court on October 10, 1980, by Governor Fob James. He taught classes in appellate and trial advocacy at Samford University"s Cumberland School of Law.
He retired from the bench on October 31, 1993, in order to spend time writing a memoir.
Governor James appointed Ralph Cook to finish his term. Adams married twice. Adams died from an infection related to cancer at Baptist Medical Center in Birmingham. Gadsden"s Oscar West. Adams Elementary School was named in his honor in 1983.
He was inducted into the Alabama Lawyers Hall of Fame in 2005 and to the Birmingham Gallery of Distinguished Citizens in 2008.
Member Alabama Law Institute, Alabama Lawyers Association (award for outstanding publicand professional service), National Bar Association (judicial council), American Trial Lawyers Association, Omega Psi Phi, Phi Beta Boule.
Married Anne-Marie Jones, January 1984. Children: Oscar William, III, Gail, Frank T., Kynath, Kevin.