James Benton Parsons

James Benton Parsons (August 13, 1911 – June 19, 1993) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. He was the first African American to serve as a judge in a U.S. district court. Early life, education and career Born on August 13, 1911, in Kansas City, Missouri, his family moved to St. Louis, Missouri, where his father was an evangelist and missionary with the Disciples of Christ Church. The family subsequently lived in Lexington, Kentucky, Dayton, Ohio and Bloomington, Indiana, before settling in Decatur, Illinois. Parsons wanted to be an attorney by the time he was in junior high school. He was named "class orator" for Stephen Decatur High School class of 1929, the "first race student" to receive this honor. He was on the basketball team at Stephen Decatur High School coached by Gay Kintner, and also in the school band and orchestra. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Millikin University in 1934. Parsons first started working as acting head of music at Lincoln University in Missouri. He met Nathaniel Dett, a former teacher at Lincoln, who had returned for a guest performance. Dett subsequently offered Parsons a job at Bennett College, a historically black college in Greensboro, North Carolina, where he was director of music. He wanted Parsons to re-score some of Dett's chorales. By 1939, Parsons had become director of instrumental music for Greensboro's Negro public schools, as the state had a segregated public school system. Under his direction, the band at James B. Dudley High School became known throughout the state for its expert musicianship and precision marching.