The First Black U.S. Delegate Appointed To The United Nations Edith Sampson Was A Member of Zeta Phi Beta

Did you know that the first Black person appointed to officially represent the United States at the United Nations was an honorary member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc.? Her name was Edith Sampson, and she spent her life breaking barriers in law, diplomacy, and the courts.

Edith Sampson was born on October 13, 1901, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She studied at the New York School of Social Work before pursuing a career in law. She earned her law degree from John Marshall Law School in 1925, and in 1927, as the Encyclopedia of Women in World History notes, she became the first woman to receive a Master of Laws from Loyola University Chicago. She was admitted to the Illinois bar that same year.

Sampson built a distinguished legal career in Chicago, running a private practice focused on criminal law and family matters, serving for years as a referee in the Cook County Juvenile Court, and, in 1947, becoming an assistant state’s attorney of Cook County.

Her greatest moment on the world stage came in 1950 when President Harry S. Truman appointed her an alternate member of the U.S. delegation to the United Nations, making her the first African American ever appointed to officially represent the United States at the UN. She served on the Social, Humanitarian, and Cultural Committee and later contributed to the U.S. Citizens Commission on NATO.

Sampson made history again in the courtroom. In 1962 she was elected an associate judge of the Municipal Court of Chicago, becoming the first Black woman elected to a judgeship in Illinois. She went on to serve on the Cook County Circuit Court before retiring in 1978.

Sampson was also embraced by the Divine Nine. Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. inducted her as an honorary member in 1952, welcoming one of the most accomplished Black women in America into the sisterhood.

Edith Sampson died on October 8, 1979, in Chicago. From the courtrooms of Cook County to the halls of the United Nations, she opened doors for Black women in law and diplomacy that had never been opened before.

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