Mobile in Mobile County, Alabama — The American South (East South Central)

Judge Virgil Pittman / Wiley L. Bolden, Sr.

Judge Virgil Pittman Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Jim Ellis, August 14, 2021

1. Judge Virgil Pittman Marker

Inscription.

Judge Virgil Pittman, also, Wiley L. Bolden, Sr.. . Judge Virgil Pittman. Thomas Virgil Pittman was born on March 28, 1916, in Enterprise AL. He graduated from the University of Alabama, in 1939 and its School of Law, in 1940. In June 1966, President Lyndon Johnson nominated, and the U.S. Senate confirmed, Judge Pittman to the United States District Courts for the Middle and Southern Districts of Alabama. He served as Chief Judge of the Southern District Court for the Southern District of Alabama from 1971-1981, when he assumed senior status. Judge Pittman retired from the federal bench as Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Alabama on March 28, 2006, his ninetieth birthday. Many agree that the did as much as any single person could to reshape Mobile's racial politics, in the 1970s and 1980s. Fourteen Black Mobilians filed a class-action suit against the City of Mobile to abolish Mobile's antiquated citywide, at large, elected three commissioner form of government, alleging it discriminated against African Americans seeking political office. Pittman ruled in favor of the Black Plaintiffs, and the Court of Appeals affirmed his decision, but the U.S. Supreme court reversed the ruling and vacated the decision. Afterward, Judge Pittman held a hearing to consider more evidence, and the final ruling case of Bolden v. City of Mobile on April 15, 1982 forced the City to change the way it elected its government. He continued his legacy of equality by becoming the first Federal Judge in Mobile to hire Black and female law clerks in his office, several of who would become judges themselves., Wiley L. Bolden, Sr.. Mr. Wiley L. Bolden, Sr., along with John L. LeFlore, was a leader of the Mobile, AL Chapter of the NAACP and a veteran civil rights activist. As the lead plaintiff in the 1975 case of Bolden v City of Mobile, Bolden at eighty-four years old, filed a class-action suit with thirteen African American co-plaintiff, representing all Mobile Black citizens, against the City of Mobile and its Commissioners. The suit alleged the 1911 at-large election system enacted by the Alabama State Legislature effectively disenfranchised Black Candidates seeking political office in the city. The attorneys for the Plaintiffs found a 1909 "smoking gun" letter from Alabama Congressman F.G. Bromberg and presented it to the U.S. District Court. Judge Virgil Pittman ruled in favor of the Plaintiffs, requiring a court ordered mayor-council form of government be adopted by the voters, resolving a decade of litigation that went all the way to the United States Supreme Court and back., Case# 75-297 Plaintiffs: Wiley L Bolden, Sr. . R.L. Hope . Charles Johnson Janet O. Leflore . John L. LeFlore . Charles Maxwell Ossie B. Purifoy . Raymond Scott . Sherman Smith Ollie Lee Taylor . Robert Turner . Sylvester Williams Ed Williams . F.C. Wilson.

Judge Virgil Pittman
Thomas Virgil Pittman was born on March 28, 1916, in Enterprise AL. He graduated from the University of Alabama, in 1939 and its School of Law, in 1940. In June 1966, President Lyndon Johnson nominated, and the U.S. Senate confirmed, Judge Pittman to the United States District Courts for the Middle and Southern Districts of Alabama. He served as Chief Judge of the Southern District Court for the Southern District of Alabama from 1971-1981, when he assumed senior status. Judge Pittman retired from the federal bench as Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Alabama on March 28, 2006, his ninetieth birthday. Many agree that the did as much as any single person could to reshape Mobile's racial politics, in the 1970s and 1980s. Fourteen Black Mobilians filed a class-action suit against the City of Mobile to abolish Mobile's antiquated citywide, at large, elected three commissioner form of government, alleging it discriminated against African Americans seeking political office. Pittman ruled in favor of the Black Plaintiffs, and the Court of Appeals affirmed his decision, but the U.S. Supreme court reversed the ruling and vacated the decision. Afterward, Judge Pittman held a hearing to consider more evidence, and the final ruling case of Bolden

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v. City of Mobile on April 15, 1982 forced the City to change the way it elected its government. He continued his legacy of equality by becoming the first Federal Judge in Mobile to hire Black and female law clerks in his office, several of who would become judges themselves.

Wiley L. Bolden, Sr.
Mr. Wiley L. Bolden, Sr., along with John L. LeFlore, was a leader of the Mobile, AL Chapter of the NAACP and a veteran civil rights activist. As the lead plaintiff in the 1975 case of Bolden v City of Mobile, Bolden at eighty-four years old, filed a class-action suit with thirteen African American co-plaintiff, representing all Mobile Black citizens, against the City of Mobile and its Commissioners. The suit alleged the 1911 at-large election system enacted by the Alabama State Legislature effectively disenfranchised Black Candidates seeking political office in the city. The attorneys for the Plaintiffs found a 1909 "smoking gun" letter from Alabama Congressman F.G. Bromberg and presented it to the U.S. District Court. Judge Virgil Pittman ruled in favor of the Plaintiffs, requiring a court ordered mayor-council form of government be adopted by the voters, resolving a decade of litigation that went all the way to the United States Supreme Court and back.

Case# 75-297 Plaintiffs:
Wiley L Bolden, Sr. • R.L. Hope • Charles

Wiley L. Bolden, Sr. Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Jim Ellis, August 15, 2021

2. Wiley L. Bolden, Sr. Marker

Johnson
Janet O. Leflore • John L. LeFlore • Charles Maxwell
Ossie B. Purifoy • Raymond Scott • Sherman Smith
Ollie Lee Taylor • Robert Turner • Sylvester Williams
Ed Williams • F.C. Wilson.

Erected 2021 by City of Mobile and the Dora Franklin Finley African American Heritage Trail.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Civil Rights. A significant historical date for this entry is April 15, 1982.

Location. 30° 41.647′ N, 88° 2.574′ W. Marker is in Mobile, Alabama, in Mobile County. Marker is at the intersection of St Joseph Street and St. Louis Street, on the right when traveling south on St Joseph Street. Located in front of the John A Campbell U.S. Courthouse. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 113 St Joseph St, Mobile AL 36602, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Mobile City Limits (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Old Slave Markets (about 300 feet away); Site of Sixth Mobile Theatre (about 400 feet away); The Slave Market (about 400 feet away); a different marker also named Mobile City Limits (about 400 feet away); Merchants National Bank Building (about 500 feet away); John Forbes & Co. (about 500 feet away); Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville (about 600 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Mobile.

South facing street view of Judge Virgil Pittman / Wiley L. Bolden, Sr. Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Jim Ellis, August 15, 2021

3. South facing street view of Judge Virgil Pittman / Wiley L. Bolden, Sr. Marker

Regarding Judge Virgil Pittman / Wiley L. Bolden, Sr.. Judge Thomas Virgil Pittman (1916-2012) Served as Special Agent Federal Bureau of Investigation from 1941 to 1944, United States Navy Lt. J.G. 1944-1946. Practiced law in Gadsden, Alabama 1946-1952 with Miller & Pittman. Judge Virgil Pittman is buried in Pine Crest Cemetery, Mobile, AL.
Find A Grave Memorial
Wiley Bolden, Jr. (1892-1987) was a World War I Army Veteran who fought in segregated American units in France and Germany, serving from October 28, 1917 until he was honorably discharged on March 19, 1919. Wiley L Bolden is buried in Oaklawn Cemetery, Toulminville, Mobile, AL.
Find A Grave Memorial

Credits. This page was last revised on February 4, 2024. It was originally submitted on August 16, 2021, by Jim Ellis of Theodore, Alabama. This page has been viewed 363 times since then and 50 times this year. Last updated on February 4, 2024, by Jim Ellis of Theodore, Alabama. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on August 16, 2021, by Jim Ellis of Theodore, Alabama. • James Hulse was the editor who published this page.