March 2, 1899

Attorney Clifford Durr was born in Montgomery. Best known for his work defending clients accused of breaking the federal loyalty oath program during the McCarthy Era, Durr became entangled in conflicts related to the “Red Scare” with his wife, activist Virginia Foster Durr, while living in Washington, D.C. After losing the majority of his white clients due to the negative publicity related to the conflicts, Durr focused the remainder of his career on representing clients in civil rights cases. In 1955, Durr assisted attorney Fred Gray in representing Rosa Parks as she challenged the city’s segregated bus seating.

Read more at Encyclopedia of Alabama.

The home of Clifford J. Durr, on Seminary Hill near Alexandria, Va., 1937. (Harris & Ewing, Inc., Wikimedia)

Rosa Parks being fingerprinted by Deputy Sheriff D.H. Lackey after being arrested for boycotting public transportation, Montgomery, February, 1956. (Associated Press, Wikimedia)

For more on Alabama’s Bicentennial, visit Alabama 200.