Chief Justice Ernest A. Finney Jr.

Ernest Adolphus Finney, Jr., was born in Smithfield, Virginia, on March 23, 1931. He departed this life on Sunday, December 3, 2017, in Columbia, South Carolina. He was the son of Ernest A. Finney, Sr. and Colleen (Godwin) Finney. His mother died, ten days after giving birth to him, from complications due to childbirth. But before she died, the young mother circled the family around her bed and made them promise to look out for her infant son and to be sure to raise him to “be somebody.” The family agreed and punctuated the moment with a final song that would forever be a critical part of a son’s living memory, “Let The Circle Be Unbroken.” The senior Finney was a young educator and soon after the death of his wife he hit the road to make a proper life for his newborn son. Ernest A. Finney, Sr., had worked for the Pentagon during the World War ll years and it was in this Washington D.C. area where the junior Finney would later recall how, as a boy, he had first noticed the spit-shined, well-dressed black men in Washington with pocket watches and tailored suits who seemed to earn the respect of all those around them. As a youngster he was impressed with them, never forgot their style, or the upright way they carried themselves. This father and son journey eventually took them both to South Carolina where the senior Finney became dean at Claflin College in Orangeburg, from which the junior Finney would eventually graduate in 1952 with a B.A. degree. In 1953, while attending law school at South Carolina State College he met another Claflin student, Frances Davenport, of Newberry. In 1954 Finney graduated from South Carolina State University with a Juris Doctor degree. At the time there were only five African American lawyers in the state of South Carolina. On New Year’s Eve, 1954, Ernest Finney popped the big sweet question to his college sweetheart and they were married six months later on August 20, 1955, on the Davenport farm in Newberry. With a new bride and a growing family, the young twenty-six-year old lawyer found it difficult to earn a living from only legal work, so he taught in Horry County and also waited tables at the Ocean Forest Hotel in Myrtle Beach, where he attended his first convention of the segregated South Carolina Bar by serving as a waiter. The early 1960’s, was a time when young lawyers personally committed to issues of justice and civil disobedience, were passionately needed by African-American communities in the south. An organization of ministers recruited the young lawyer away from Conway and invited him into the heart and soul of the most fiery issues of the day: Education. Access. Social Justice. In 1961 Finney moved his family to Sumter and opened the Ernest A. Finney, Jr. Law Office. Eventually, Finney teamed up with the only other young African-American lawyer in town, Reuben L. Gray, and together they started the Finney and Gray Law Office. The south was ablaze with change and Finney began to work with another South Carolina State law school graduate, Matthew J. Perry. Finney gained a reputation as an outstanding defense lawyer and civil rights advocate. Together they defended more than six thousand clients who had been arrested for taking part in freedom rides and demonstrations. One of Ernest Finney’s most notable defenses was on behalf of nine students in Rock Hill in 1961. They were young progressive students who staged one of the first sit-ins in South Carolina. He lost almost every case that went to trial but won all but two on appeal to higher courts. Finney often remarked, “I have never known abject poverty, but I have known segregation in its worst form. I therefore believe the law is absolutely necessary to protect the rights of all citizens.” The sterling reputation of the young lawyer from South Carolina quickly made its way to higher ground. The U.S. Attorney General, Robert F. Kennedy, invited him to leave the south and make his way to Washington, D.C. to work at the Justice Department during the height of the Civil Rights movement. But the young lawyer had his own quiet plans at the ready. He knew what was at stake. He politely declined Kennedy’s invitation and later reflected, “I had chosen where I wanted to take my stand. South Carolina.” Finney’s climb to the top of his profession began with little fanfare and required a steady mixture of hard work and perseverance. In 1963, Ernest Finney, Jr. was appointed chairman of the South Carolina Advisory Commission on Civil Rights. In 1972 he was elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives with the popular campaign slogan “Be Fair, Vote Finney!” He was one of the first African Americans elected to the General Assembly since the nineteenth century. He served in the State House from 1973 until 1976. Beginning in 1976 he was the first African American to serve as a circuit court judge in South Carolina. He was elected as associate justice of the South Carolina Supreme Court on April 3, 1985. He was elected chief justice on May 11, 1994, making him the first African American chief justice of South Carolina. In his five years as chief justice, he concentrated his efforts on increasing the number of state court judges and the pay they received. He recommended the creation of a special drug court to relieve family courts and circuit courts of the staggering number of cases they handled involving drugs. During his time on the Supreme Court Finney believed that making reforms in magistrate courts would improve the quality of justice they dispensed. He assumed office on December 17, 1994, and retired in March 2000. He spent a brief term as president of South Carolina State University in 2002. During his many years of public service Ernest A. Finney, Jr. served as a member of the Conference of Chief Justices, American Law Institute, American Judges Association, South Carolina State Elections Commission 1968 – 72; American and National Bar Associations; Association of Trial Lawyers of America; Emmanuel United Methodist Church; Chairman, Board of Directors Buena Vista Development Corporation; Chairman, Board of Trustees: Claflin University; Member of Alpha Kappa Mu Honor Society; Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity; Mason; Shriner; NAACP; Chairman South Carolina Legislative Black Caucus 1973 – 75; Graduate National College of State Trial Judges; 1977; New York University School of Law Appellate Judges Seminar 1985. Throughout his life and career, Ernest A. Finney, Jr. accepted speaking engagements at Sunday school classes in Moncks Corner, middle school gymnasiums in Manning, high school auditoriums from Conway to Spartanburg, United Methodist and Southern Baptist church picnics, and also attended grand galas with the governor and other heads of state. His message was simple and he shared it everywhere he was invited to stand and deliver: You have been given a life – use it to better the world. You have been blessed with potential – use it to stand tall for truth and justice. You did not get here by yourself – turn and thank somebody on the road behind you for helping you get to where you have gotten. Ernest A. Finney, Jr. believed quite passionately in standing with and beside the people who saw him as a role model and mentor. He felt honored to be “the first” African-American of anything but he also felt personally dutiful about being responsible to the young African-American people of South Carolina. He wanted to be seen as an honorable and faithful man. It was a badge of honor for him to keep his word, bring people together, and stay in touch with all people from all walks of life. And his hands down, absolute favorite, Bible verse was: Micah 6:8 “This is what the Lord requires from you: to act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." The list of Ernest A. Finney’s Honorary Doctorate degrees is many: Honorary Doctorate of Humanities Degree, Claflin University 1977; Honorary Doctorate of Laws Degree, The University of South Carolina Coastal Carolina College, 1991; Honorary Doctorate of Humanities Degree, Johnson C. Smith University; 1995; Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters, College of Charleston, 1995; Honorary Doctorate of Laws, Morris College, 1996; Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters South Carolina State University, 2001; Honorary Doctorate of Laws Degree, The Citadel, 2003. The loss of his mother, at such an early age in his life, made family the greatest gift and promise to Ernest A. Finney, Jr. Time with his family was something he never compromised. He and Frances Davenport Finney were married for 63 years. They had three children, all of Columbia, South Carolina: Ernest A. Finney III (Tammy Harper), Lynn Carol Nikky Finney (Tonia Poteat), Jerry Leo Finney (Elaine Gilliam). They have five grandchildren: Amanda Catherine Finney, Felicia Victoria Finney, Jerry Leo Finney, Jr., Colleen Teresa Finney, and Daniel Matthew Finney. He leaves behind a stepmother, Geneva B. Finney (Orangeburg) and the entire Brown-Mays family: Tommy Brown, Moses and Lanni Brown, Justin and Jordan. Bruce Finney, Kimanthi Thompson, Husan Thompson, Nehandah Finney, and Garvey Finney. He also leaves behind Essex Finney, Marilyn White, Janice and Ron Toliver, Joann Phillips, Essex Finney, Essex E. Finney, Joy and Charles Day, Bernetta Finney-Vincent, Diane McDaniel Rhodes, Reuben McDaniel III, Claudia Turner, and Carol and Robert Gordon. He leaves behind a special love for Felicia Goins and also for his brother-in-law Heyward Davenport and his wife Barbara. And as a super grandfather there was always love for Rechard Harris and Ariel Finney. He leaves behind a host of former students, friends, clerks, colleagues, secretaries, and good buddies, people who smiled his way and outstretched their hand to help and celebrate his good long luminous life. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to The Ernest A. Finney, Jr. Fund established by a generous first gift by Ernest A. Finney, Jr. and Frances Davenport Finney twenty years ago to support scholarships for deserving Claflin students at the sacred place where they began their lives together. Please see the following: Chief Justice Ernest A. Finney, Jr. Endowed Scholarship Fund at Clafin University https://alumni.claflin.edu/chief-justice-ret.-ernest-a.-finney-jr.-memorial. Celebration of Life service will be streamed live from 9:45am-12:45pm Saturday December 9, 2017.

Chief Justice Ernest A. Finney Jr.

March 23, 1931 - December 3, 2017