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Bessye Bennett
American, 1938 - 2000
BiographyBessye Warren Bennett (1938-2000) was Connecticut's first African American woman to
practice law in Connecticut and was admitted to the bar in 1974.
Bessye was born in Prairie View, Texas, on August 16, 1938, the only child of Dr. Samuel F. Warren, a college professor, and Juanita McBroom Warren, a public school teacher and librarian. She graduated from Radcliffe College in Boston, Massachusetts in 1954, and shortly thereafter married John Bennett, who was a Harvard University student at the time. In 1964, the couple moved to Hartford, Connecticut with their three children: Vera (b. 1959), John Jr. (b. 1960), and Margaret (b. 1962). John Bennett worked at United Technologies in Hartord, eventually becoming director of data processing.
In 1967, Bessye graduated from Trinity College with a master's degree in education. She graduated from the University of Connecticut Law School in 1973 and was admitted to practice law in Connecticut in 1974. She was the first African American woman in Connecticut licensed to practice law and to be hired to a corporate legal position at the Society for Savings. She established a private practice in 1985. She was also the first African American woman appointed deputy town counsel for the Town of Bloomfield and the first to serve on the board of Connecticut Natural Gas.
She died on May 16, 2000 in Hartford, Connecticut.
Source: Green, Constance Belton (2014). "The Trailblazing Bessye Bennett" (PDF). Connecticut Explored.
practice law in Connecticut and was admitted to the bar in 1974.
Bessye was born in Prairie View, Texas, on August 16, 1938, the only child of Dr. Samuel F. Warren, a college professor, and Juanita McBroom Warren, a public school teacher and librarian. She graduated from Radcliffe College in Boston, Massachusetts in 1954, and shortly thereafter married John Bennett, who was a Harvard University student at the time. In 1964, the couple moved to Hartford, Connecticut with their three children: Vera (b. 1959), John Jr. (b. 1960), and Margaret (b. 1962). John Bennett worked at United Technologies in Hartord, eventually becoming director of data processing.
In 1967, Bessye graduated from Trinity College with a master's degree in education. She graduated from the University of Connecticut Law School in 1973 and was admitted to practice law in Connecticut in 1974. She was the first African American woman in Connecticut licensed to practice law and to be hired to a corporate legal position at the Society for Savings. She established a private practice in 1985. She was also the first African American woman appointed deputy town counsel for the Town of Bloomfield and the first to serve on the board of Connecticut Natural Gas.
She died on May 16, 2000 in Hartford, Connecticut.
Source: Green, Constance Belton (2014). "The Trailblazing Bessye Bennett" (PDF). Connecticut Explored.
Person TypeIndividual
Mohegan, 1899 - 2005