L. Amasa Knox (1869 – August 10, 1949) was an American lawyer, civil rights activist, and state legislator in Missouri. He served in the Missouri House of Representatives in the late 1920s.[1][2] He lived in Kansas City, Missouri where he worked as a lawyer,[3] and also held leadership positions in the NAACP Kansas City office.

L. Amasa Knox, c. 1913
L. Amasa Knox, c. 1913

Biography

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L. Amasa Knox was born in 1869 in Virginia.[4] As a child he attended the First Baptist Church of Sussex, Virginia.[4] He supported himself in his early career as a blacksmith.[4]

Knox graduated from Virginia Normal and Collegiate Institute (now Virginia State University), initially with the college preparatory coursework in 1890, followed by a A.B. degree in 1894.[4] He graduated from law school in 1897 from Howard University School of Law.[4]

In 1919, he represented two boys who fled peonage in Arkansas and were facing extradition back to Arkansas for monies allegedly owed.[5]

Knox served as president of Kansas City's NAACP branch,[6] and was elected along with fellow African Americans Walthour Moore and G. M. Allen in 1927.[7]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Coulter, Charles Edward (2006). Take Up the Black Man's Burden: Kansas City's African American Communities, 1865-1939. University of Missouri Press. pp. 158–160. ISBN 978-0-8262-6518-0.
  2. ^ "L. Amasa Knox, 'Dean' of Kansas City Lawyers and City Counselor Aide, Dies". The Call. 1949-08-19. p. 3. Retrieved 2023-12-31 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ Greene, Lorenzo Johnston; Kremer, Gary R.; Holland, Antonio Frederick (September 21, 1993). Missouri's Black Heritage. University of Missouri Press. ISBN 978-0-8262-0904-7 – via Google Books.
  4. ^ a b c d e Bacote, Samuel William (1913). "L. Amasa Knox, L.B., LL.B., LL.M.". Who's Who Among the Colored Baptists of the United States. The Library of Congress. Kansas City, MO: Franklin Hudson Publishing Co. pp. 49–50 – via Internet Archive.
  5. ^ "NAACP Annual Report". National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. September 21, 1919 – via Google Books.
  6. ^ Bois, William Edward Burghardt Du (September 21, 1936). "The Crisis". Crisis Publishing Company – via Google Books.
  7. ^ Bois, William Edward Burghardt Du (September 21, 1927). "Crisis". Crisis Publishing Company – via Google Books.