Family members of J.R. Clifford, West Virginia's first African American attorney, were among those present at the Cultural Center on Feb. 20 for an unveiling of a commerative stamp set issued by the U.S. Postal Service honoring Clifford and 11 other civil rights pioneers. Pictured here are, from left, Jennifer Neal and Alfred Neal Jr., Clifford's great-great-granddaughter and great-grandson and Rosemary Clifford McDaniel, the Clifford family historian. Clifford is pictured in the middle of the top-center stamp. (Photos by Lawrence Smith)

Charleston attorney Dwane Tinsley serves as the master of ceremonies for the unveiling of a commemorative stamp set honoring civil rights pioneers held at the Cultural Center theater in Charleston on Feb. 20. Among the 12 pioneers honored in the set is J.R. Clifford, the first African American admitted to the state Bar who argued a landmark wage discrimination case before the state Supreme Court in 1898.

Former state Supreme Court Justice Larry V. Starcher gives a short history of the life of J.R. Clifford at the Cultural Center theater on Feb. 20. Starcher was among the dignitaries on hand for the unveiling of commemorative stamp set honoring Clifford and 11 other civil rights pioneers. In addition to being the first African Amercian admitted to the state Bar, Clifford argued a landmark civil rights case before the Court in 1898.

Former Cabell County Delegate Arley Johnson does a portrayal of J.R. Clifford, the first African American attorney admitted to the state Bar who also argued a landmark civil rights case before the state Supreme Court in 1898. Johnson's portrayal was part of a ceremony held on Feb. 20 at the Cultural Center theater unveiling a commemorative stamp set issued by the United States Postal Service honoring Clifford and 11 other civil rights pioneers.

CHARLESTON - As the U.S. Postal Service prepared to issue a stamp bearing the likeness of 19th Century lawyer J. R. Clifford, former state legislator Arley Johnson breathed life into Clifford.

Johnson's impersonation of the civil rights champion hit the high spot of a Feb. 20 celebration of the Clifford stamp at the Cultural Center beside the Capitol.

"All the suffering, struggling and heartache of the past have not been totally in vain," he told an audience of hundreds. "You can be a part of the ongoing project of ending racism and all its effects."

In 1898, Clifford won a decision at the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals that required equal education for blacks and whites.

He published the Pioneer Press newspaper in Martinsburg, and helped lay the foundation of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

History nearly forgot him, but West Virginia University professor Connie Rice stumbled across his story and started spreading it around.

"It has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life," Rice told the crowd. "I am so happy I got to meet his family."

At least ten of his descendants filled the front row.

Family historian Rosemary Clifford McDaniel said she knew nothing about him until 1991, when her seventh-grade son asked for help with a family tree.

She traced family threads to Paul Clifford of Atlanta, who shared his research with her prior to his death in 1993.

Former Supreme Court Justice Larry Starcher said it was illegal in Virginia to teach blacks to read and write, so Clifford went to school in Chicago.

He said Clifford graduated from Storer College in Harpers Ferry in 1877. He said Clifford studied in a law office and passed the bar examination.

He said Clifford was a founder and leader of the Niagara Movement that led to formation of the NAACP.

In his newspaper, Starcher said, Clifford "attacked everything he deemed unholy."

He said, "These are broad shoulders for the next generations to stand on."

A photograph of President Obama and his family popped up on a screen behind him and he said, "If he could only be here today to see what America has finally done."

Starcher drew back in wonder as Johnson stepped to the stage in Clifford costume.

Johnson said the Montgomery bus boycott was "the crack that led to the complete shattering of segregation," but added that the journey didn't end there.

"Attitudes persist," he said. "Segregation means that injustice persists in America for people of color, especially children."

Charleston lawyer Kitty Dooley said, "How would today be different if J.R. Clifford hadn't lived. I submit to you that we would live in a different world."

She said his Supreme Court victory led to Brown v. Board of Education, the decision that outlawed segregation.

"America is certainly on the path to being all that America can be," she said.

Master of ceremonies Dwane Tinsley, president of the West Virginia State Bar, urged the audience to "identify racism and do all in our power to eliminate it."

Supreme Court Chief Justice Brent Benjamin celebrated the occasion.

Sales of the stamp began Feb. 21.