Florynce Kennedy Research Paper

Florynce Rae Kennedy, affectionately nicknamed “Flo,” was born on February 11, 1916, to Zella and Wiley Kennedy. Aside from a small encounter with the Ku Klux Klan, Kennedy’s parents were able to provide a safe environment for their family in Kansas City, Missouri. Kennedy attributed a great deal of her self-confidence to her parents, claiming that, “Our parents had us so convinced we were precious that by the time I found out I was nothing, it was already too late. I knew I was something.” (AHA)
During the late 1960s and 1970s, Florynce “Flo” Kennedy was a household name around the country. Decades later, very few people recognize the name of the prominent black feminist. Historical accounts of second wave feminism tend to all but erase her

In 1954, two years after passing the bar, she opened her own private practice. (notablebio) Previous biographers have called Kennedy’s marriage to Charles Dudley Rye a “departure” from her true nature, noting that she was of an independent and nonaligned nature. The marriage did not last long, though that was likely in part due to her husband’s alcoholism, which resulted in his death shortly after the divorce. (AHA) Following the creation of her practice, Kennedy represented a number of high profile clients, including civil rights activist H. Rap Brown, Billie Holiday and Charlie Parker. In 1969, she aided in the defense of several Black Panther members who were charged with an alleged plot to bomb stores in New York City. They suffered the longest trial in the history of New York, but were finally acquitted in 1971. Kennedy was instrumental in their acquittal. Her representation of Billie Holiday and Charlie Parker was in regard to retrieving withheld royalties and sales. The racism Kennedy confronted in the courtroom led her to believe that perhaps her talents might be more effective in a different venue. "Handling the Holiday and Parker estates taught me more than I was really ready for about government and business delinquency and the hostility and helplessness of the courts …" she wrote in her autobiography. "These … marked the beginning of a serious disenchantment … with the practice of law. By this