The Chocolate Connoisseur - Irma Von Nunes

February 1929 – “I haven’t any illusions about the law,” Irma Von Nunes informed a reporter. “I know it is a plugging profession, but it happens to be the sort of plugging I don’t mind.”

This statement came from a 19-year old woman who’d just passed the Georgia Bar exam with flying colors. But what made her achievement even more remarkable was the fact that Irma had never attended a day of law school in her life. 

Irma’s father, Tillou Von Nunes, known as one of Atlanta’s best-known lawyers, had allowed his only daughter to accompany him to court. Fascinated by the law, once she got her high school diploma, Irma showed up at her father’s office one morning, pulled out a volume of Blackstone, unwrapped a chocolate and began to read.

It took her two years and countless boxes of chocolates to wade through his law library. When her reading was finished, Irma announced she planned to take the bar examination.

After her admittance to practice law, Irma continued to be considered something of a protégé of the bar. Her first case traveled all the way to the State Supreme Court of Georgia.  She won, scoring a double bonus since it made the first time a woman appeared before Georgia’s highest tribunal.         

World War II profoundly changed Irma’s course in life. She left Georgia far behind, enlisting in the Army in 1942 and then being transferred overseas. She reached the rank of Captain in the WACs. When the war came to a close, Irma became the first woman prosecutor to take part in the trials for war crimes held in Dachau, Germany.  

The Debunker - Genevieve McLaughlin

May 1922 – Business was booming at the First Spiritualist Church of New York on West 7th Street. For a two-dollar “membership fee.” one could join in the nightly seances presided over by the Reverend William R. Thompson and the spirit of “Little Eva.” Between the casualties of the Great War and Spanish Flu pandemic, there seemed to be an overabundance of lost loved ones just waiting to converse from the afterlife.

Unfortunately, these seances turned out to be just the tip of the iceberg for scamming the grieving and gullible. After several people turned up at the local precinct, reporting the loss of their life savings, Detective Sargent Genevieve McLaughlin decided to investigate.

She and two of her male colleagues arrived at the two-story brownstone the following night. Each paid their two dollars, entered a well- lit room and joined fourteen others in singing “We Shall Meet on That Beautiful Shore.” As they reached the Amen, all the lights went out except for one partially hidden behind a dark curtain. After a second or two, a filmy apparition appeared to be floating by the curtain. “Ah,” exclaimed the Reverend Thompson. “We have with us the spirit of Little Eva. Do not go close to the curtain. A touch would kill the spirit of Little Eva.”

There was silence for a moment before the “spirit” asked if anyone present had a deceased relative?

Thinking fast, Genevieve spoke up:

“Is that you Aunt Jemima?”

“Yes,” a higher pitched voice warbled. “Are you alone or have you got your husband Bob with you?”   

Smoothly, the policewoman turned to one of the other detectives and took him by the arm. She asked if she could bring “Bob” closer so the spirit could get a good look. “Aunt Jemima” agreed, telling “Bob” that he looked well. At that McLaughlin tore down the black curtain, wrapping up a very corporeal “Little Eva” in its folds.         

When the spirit of “Little Eva” finally untangled herself, it proved to be the reverend’s wife barefoot and dressed all in white with a veil over her face.

While the detectives took the reverend and his furious wife into custody, Officer Genevieve McLaughlin turned to the remaining congregation. Looking over the shocked faces, she realized that most were desperate for a sign from someone they dearly missed. She paused for a moment before deciding to forgo the standard bureau lecture on con artists and the spirit world.

Clearing her throat, Genevieve gently advised the group to use caution in any of their future dealings with the afterlife and wished them a good night.     

The Frenemies - Edith Sampson & Eunice Carter

Invisible: The Forgotten Story of the Black Woman Lawyer Who Took Down America’s Most Powerful Mobster by Stephen L Carter (www.stephencarterbooks.com)

Yes, the title is a mouthful but when the above-mentioned mobster is Salvatore Lucania – also known as “Lucky Luciano,” you’ve got my full attention.

In a fascinating slice of legal history, Carter offers up a nuanced look at the until now little-known story of his grandmother; a thoughtful portrayal of a prosecutor who refused to compromise. I won’t try to steal Carter’s thunder by describing this book any further, so please check it out for yourself, it’s well worth a look.  

However, a lady who appears throughout the book and turned out to a frenemy of Eunice’s, is our next subject.   

November 1962 – “This means history! “Edith Sampson remarked, becoming the first black woman elected to fill a vacancy as city court judge in Illinois.

Her successes never came easy. Fourteen years’ worth of taking classes at night, first at the University of Chicago, then a law degree from John Marshall University, and finishing at Loyola University with a master’s degree gave Edith the necessary credentials she needed for the international stage. 

In 1950, President Harry S. Truman named Edith as an alternate to the United Nations - the only black at that time to represent the United States. After touring more than twenty countries in Europe and Asia and logging in thousands of miles, it seemed ironic that a woman so active in international affairs, would consider seeking a political office at the city level, even if that city happened to be Chicago.  

But Edith decided there had to be a first time for everything. At the age of sixty, she ran. “Maybe I can give incentive to millions of girls who can say, ’If she did it, so can I,’ and who may try.” And that she did.

Diligence – persistence, effort, and a zealous attitude towards living.

Victory!

Edith Sampson doffs her hat in Democratic headquarters after she was elected to a municipal judgeship.