Graham T. Perry was a prominent African American attorney who served as assistant attorney general for the State of Illinois. He is also the father of stage director Shauneille Perry and uncle of playwright Lorraine Hansberry

Lorraine Hansberry

Lorraine Hansberry was an African American playwright and author of political speeches, letters, and essays...

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Biography

According to the 1900 U.S. Census, Perry was born in April 1894 (some sources indicate either April 22, 1897 or April 22, 1900 ) in Columbia, Tennessee, the youngest child of the Rev. George W. Perry, an escaped former slave, and Charlotte "Lottie" Organ. He received his elementary and secondary school education in Columbia, then attended Morehouse College

Morehouse College

Morehouse College is a private, all-male, liberal arts, historically black college located in Atlanta, Georgia. Along with Hampden-Sydney College and Wabash College, Morehouse is one of three remaining traditional men's colleges in the United States....

 in Atlanta, Georgia

Atlanta, Georgia

Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...

. In 1923, he received the degree of juris doctor

Juris Doctor

Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...

from the Northwestern University School of Law

Northwestern University School of Law

The Northwestern University School of Law is a private American law school in Chicago, Illinois. The law school was founded in 1859 as the Union College of Law of the Old University of Chicago. The first law school established in Chicago, it became jointly controlled by Northwestern University in...

.

He was very active in civil rights, having served as vice president of the Chicago branch of the NAACP.

In 1941, he was elected to the post of assistant attorney general for the State of Illinois. After Nathan K. McGill

Nathan K. McGill

Nathan K. McGill was the first African American to serve as assistant attorney general for the State of Illinois. He was also the first African American appointed to the Chicago Library Board.-Biography:...

, he was one of the first African Americans to hold that position in the state. No African American would serve as a state's attorney general until Edward Brooke

Edward Brooke

Edward William Brooke, III is an American politician and was elected to the United States Senate as a Republican from Massachusetts in 1966, defeating his Democratic opponent, Endicott Peabody, 60.7%–38.7%...

 was elected Attorney General of Massachusetts in 1962.

He died on September 9, 1960 and is buried at the Burr Oak Cemetery near Chicago.