Chester K. Gillespie (1897–1985) was a lawyer and politician who worked for civil rights in Cleveland, Ohio.[1]

Biography edit

Gillespie was born in Home City, Ohio[2] to Warren and Lulu Trail Gillespie. He graduated from Ohio State University and then from Baldwin-Wallace College Law School in 1920. He served three terms in the Ohio General Assembly in 1933–34, 1939–40, and 1943–44. He was a Republican.[3]

He served in the U.S. Army during World War II.[2] He and fellow attorney Clayborne George were denied office space in buildings in downtown Cleveland because they were African American.[4]

Gillespie served as president of the Cleveland Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in 1936 and 1937.[4]

References edit

  1. ^ "Chester K. Gillespie". cplorg.contentdm.oclc.org.
  2. ^ a b "Chester K. Gillespie | Ohio Statehouse". ohiostatehouse.org.
  3. ^ "GILLESPIE, CHESTER K." Encyclopedia of Cleveland History | Case Western Reserve University. November 18, 2019.
  4. ^ a b Gordon, Rhianna. "Chester K. Gillespie - The Struggle to End "Jim Crow" in Downtown Cleveland". Cleveland Historical.