Honorable Matthew E. Perry, Jr.

Matthew J. Perry Jr., a South Carolina State University graduate, was the first African American federal judge from South Carolina. As a civil-rights lawyer he argued cases that opened public colleges and facilities in the state before his appointment to the federal bench.

• First African American federal judge from South Carolina.
• Civil-rights litigator who helped desegregate South Carolina institutions.
• Inducted into the National Black College Alumni Hall of Fame in 2006.