Matthew James Perry Jr. first made history by becoming the first federally-appointed judge from the Deep South in 1976.

Perry was raised in Columbia, S.C., and attended what is now known as South Carolina State University.

Perry represented Sarah Mae Flemming in the case of “Flemming v. South Carolina Electric and Gas Co.,” a lawsuit brought by Perry after Ms. Flemming was struck by a bus driver for not moving to the back of a bus in South Carolina.

In 1961, Perry was named the State Counsel for the South Carolina Conference of the NAACP.

In 2004, the U.S. Courthouse in Columbia was named after Perry behind the efforts of South Carolina congressman James Clyburn.