Resource: Henry Hampton Collection: Interview of Judge Charles Clark

This interview was done for Henry Hampton's Eyes on the Prize: America's Civil Rights Years (1954-1965). Charles Clark was born in Memphis, TN. He served in the U.S. Naval Reserve in World War II. After World War II and before he returned to service during the Korean War he practiced law in Jackson, MS. Clark represented the University of Mississippi's Board of Trustees when James Meredith sued for being rejected based on race. Clark argued that the University had no policy on race and Meredith's rejection was based on a lack of qualifications. In 1969, President Nixon appointed him a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Clark became the Chief Judge of this court in 1981 and retired in 1992.