Mahala Ashley Dickerson was born on October 12, 1912 seventeen miles outside of Montgomery, Alabama, on a plantation owned by her father. Dickerson attended primary school at a private girls' school in Montgomery, and completed high school at the High School Division of the Alabama State Teacher's College. Dickerson continued on to Fisk University, where she graduated cum laude in 1935 with a degree in sociology. She married briefly in 1938 to Henry Dickerson with whom she had triplets - John, Henri Christophe (Chris), and Alfred. She would eventually continue on to Howard University's law school, becoming one of four women to graduate in her class of 1948.
During her long legal career, she was known as an advocate for the rights of the poor and underprivileged, women, and minorities. She was the first African American female attorney in her home state of Alabama in 1949, and the second black woman admitted to the bar in Indiana in 1951. After working as an attorney in Alabama and Indiana, she moved to Alaska with her sons and became Alaska's first black female attorney in 1959. Dickerson also served as the first African American president of the National Association of Women Lawyers from 1983 to 1984. She received numerous honors and awards during her career, including induction to the National Bar Association's Hall of Fame in 1999. In addition to her legal practice, she owned a real estate firm. She was a member of the Society of Friends for most of her adult life. She resided and practiced law in Wasilla, Alaska until her death on February 19, 2007.
From the guide to the Mahala Ashley Dickerson Papers, 1958-2007 and undated, (David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University)
