The National Bar Association Puts Black Lawyers in the Same Room as the Judges and Partners in Their Field

When 12 Black lawyers met in Des Moines on August 1, 1925, there were fewer than 1,000 Black attorneys in the entire country. The American Bar Association had told the public in 1912 that its settled practice was to elect only white men as members. It did not resolve that membership was open regardless of race until 1943, and did not admit a Black lawyer until 1950. Five of those founders were Howard University School of Law graduates. Gertrude E. Durden Rush, the only woman among them, was the first Black woman admitted to the Iowa bar.

A century later the National Bar Association says it represents roughly 65,000 lawyers, judges, law professors and law students through 80 affiliate chapters across 12 regions. The structure is built for career-building: 23 substantive law sections and nine divisions, including the Women Lawyers Division and the Young Lawyers Division, so a member finds the specific room where their practice area meets.

That matters most for people early on. A young attorney who works a section committee is in regular contact with partners, general counsel and judges in their field. The 101st Annual Convention met in Nashville in July 2026 with continuing legal education, section programming and a job board.

The entry price is the headline. Pre-law students and law students join free. An attorney practicing fewer than five years pays $125. After five years it is $250.

The association also runs the Crump Law Camp at Howard University School of Law for students in grades nine through eleven, and its National Bar Institute funds the Law Scholars Program and a Bar Passage Success Program.

Membership details are at nationalbar.org/membership.

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