Age, Biography and Wiki

Derrick Bell (Derrick Albert Bell Jr.) was born on 6 November, 1930 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S., is an American lawyer, professor, and civil rights activist. Discover Derrick Bell's Biography, Age, Height, Physical Stats, Dating/Affairs, Family and career updates. Learn How rich is he in this year and how he spends money? Also learn how he earned most of networth at the age of 81 years old?

Popular As Derrick Albert Bell Jr.
Occupation Law professor · attorney · author
Age 81 years old
Zodiac Sign Scorpio
Born 6 November 1930
Birthday 6 November
Birthplace Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Date of death 5 October, 2011
Died Place New York City, New York, U.S.
Nationality United States

We recommend you to check the complete list of Famous People born on 6 November. He is a member of famous Writer with the age 81 years old group.

Derrick Bell Height, Weight & Measurements

At 81 years old, Derrick Bell height not available right now. We will update Derrick Bell's Height, weight, Body Measurements, Eye Color, Hair Color, Shoe & Dress size soon as possible.

Physical Status
Height Not Available
Weight Not Available
Body Measurements Not Available
Eye Color Not Available
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Who Is Derrick Bell's Wife?

His wife is Jewel Hairston (died 1990) Janet Dewart (m. 1992)

Family
Parents Not Available
Wife Jewel Hairston (died 1990) Janet Dewart (m. 1992)
Sibling Not Available
Children 3

Derrick Bell Net Worth

His net worth has been growing significantly in 2023-2024. So, how much is Derrick Bell worth at the age of 81 years old? Derrick Bell’s income source is mostly from being a successful Writer. He is from United States. We have estimated Derrick Bell's net worth, money, salary, income, and assets.

Net Worth in 2024 $1 Million - $5 Million
Salary in 2024 Under Review
Net Worth in 2023 Pending
Salary in 2023 Under Review
House Not Available
Cars Not Available
Source of Income Writer

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Timeline

1930

Derrick Albert Bell Jr. (November 6, 1930 – October 5, 2011) was an American lawyer, legal scholar, and civil rights activist.

Bell first worked for the U.S. Justice Department, then the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, where he supervised over 300 school desegregation cases in Mississippi.

After a decade as a civil rights lawyer, Bell moved into academia where he spent the second half of his life.

Bell was born on November 6, 1930, to Derrick Albert and Ada Elizabeth Childress Bell.

He was raised in a working-class family in the Hill District of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

He was raised a Presbyterian.

Bell's maternal grandfather, John Childress, was a blind cook on the Pennsylvania Railroad.

His paternal grandfather was a minister in Dothan, Alabama.

Bell attended Schenley High School and was the first member of his family to go to college.

He was offered a scholarship to Lincoln University but could not attend due to a lack of financial aid, choosing to attend Duquesne University instead.

1952

There, he was a member of the college's Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) and graduated with his bachelor's degree in 1952.

He then served as an officer for the United States Air Force for two years, one of which he spent in Korea.

1957

In 1957, he received a LL.B. from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law where he was the only Black graduate of his class.

1959

In 1959, the Justice Department asked him to resign his membership in the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) because it was thought that his objectivity, and that of the department, might be compromised or called into question.

Rather than give up his NAACP membership and compromise his principles, Bell left the Justice Department.

Bell returned to Pittsburgh and joined the local chapter of the NAACP.

1960

In 1960, Bell married Jewel Hairston who was also a Civil Rights activist and educator and they would go on to have three sons: Derrick, Douglas, and Carter.

Soon afterward in 1960, Bell was recruited by Thurgood Marshall, the head of the NAACP's legal arm and the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund (LDF).

Bell would join the NAACP Legal Defense Fund in Pittsburgh, crafting legal strategies at the forefront of the battle to undo racist laws and segregation in schools.

At the LDF, he worked alongside other prominent civil-rights attorneys such as Thurgood Marshall, Robert L. Carter, and Constance Baker Motley.

Bell was assigned to Mississippi where during his trips to the state, he had to be very cautious.

For example, once while in Jackson, he was arrested for using a white-only phone booth.

After returning to NY, "Marshall mordantly joked that, if he got himself killed in Mississippi, the L.D.F. would use his funeral as a fund-raiser."

When Bell was in Mississippi, he provided legal support to Mississippi schools, colleges, voting rights activists, and Freedom Riders.

1962

He also supported James Meredith's attempt to attend the Ole Miss Law School in 1962.

While working at the LDF, Bell supervised more than 300 school desegregation cases and spearheaded the fight of James Meredith to secure admission to the University of Mississippi, over the protests of Governor Ross Barnett.

Afterward, he said of this period,"I learned a lot about evasiveness, and how racists could use a system to forestall equality...I also learned a lot riding those dusty roads and walking into those sullen hostile courts in Jackson, Mississippi. It just seems that unless something's pushed unless you litigate, nothing happens."

1971

He started teaching at the University of Southern California, then moved to Harvard Law School where he became the first tenured African-American professor of law in 1971.

1990

They were married until Jewel died in 1990.

He later married Janet Dewart.

After graduation and a recommendation from then United States associate attorney general William P. Rogers, Bell took a position with the newly formed Department of Justice in the Honor Graduate Recruitment Program.

Due to his interests in racial issues, he transferred to the Civil Rights Division.

He was one of the few Black lawyers working for the Justice Department at the time.

Bell was the first academic in law that created a casebook that explored and examined the law's impact and relationship on race and racism.

Along with this he examined how race and racism shaped law-making, during a time when connecting these ideas was not considered legitimate.

1991

From 1991 until his death in 2011, Bell was a visiting professor at New York University School of Law, and a dean of the University of Oregon School of Law.

While he was a visiting, he was a professor of constitutional law.

Bell developed important scholarship, writing many articles and multiple books, using his practical legal experience and his academic research to examine racism, particularly in the legal system.

Bell questioned civil rights advocacy approaches, partially stemming from frustrations in his own experiences as a lawyer.

Bell is often credited as one of the originators of critical race theory.