On July 31, 1981, Arnette Rhinehart Hubbard, a Chicago-based attorney, made history by becoming the first female president of the National Bar Association (NBA). Founded in 1925, the NBA is the largest organization representing Black lawyers and judges in the United States. Hubbard’s groundbreaking achievement marked a significant milestone for both women and African Americans in the legal profession, breaking a longstanding gender barrier in a major national legal organization.

Born in Stephens, Arkansas, Arnette Hubbard earned her Bachelor of Science degree from Southern Illinois University before graduating from John Marshall Law School in Chicago in 1969. Early in her career, she worked as a staff attorney for the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, advocating for civil righ

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