Irvin C. Mollison
Irvin Charles Mollison was a judge of the United States Customs Court.
Education and career
Born on December 24, 1898, in Vicksburg, Mississippi, Mollison was the son of Willis E. Mollison, one of the "pioneering African-American lawyers in Mississippi."Mollison received a Bachelor of Philosophy degree in 1920 from the University of Chicago, graduating Phi Beta Kappa. He received a J.D. degree in 1923 from the University of Chicago Law School. He then worked in private practice in Chicago, Illinois from 1923 to 1945.
Mollison successfully argued before the U. S. Supreme Court in the landmark case of Hansberry v. Lee. Mollison represented Israel Katz, one of the defendants who had signed the restrictive covenant.
Mollison was a leader in a variety of civic and professional organizations in Chicago. He was the President of the Illinois NAACP in the late 1930s. From 1938 to 41 and 1945 to 48, Mollison served on the Board of Directors for the Chicago Public Library. In 1944, Mollison became the only black director of the Chicago Board of Education. In 1944 and 1945, Mollison was a member of the Board of Directors for the Chicago Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild.
In addition, Mollison was a member of the Cook County Bar Association, Illinois State Bar Association, and the National Bar Association.