WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. House Assistant Democratic Leader James E. Clyburn (SC) released the following statement today on the passing of Justice Ernest Finney:
“I was deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Justice Ernest Finney, Jr. He was a pioneering advocate for social justice who had an enormous impact on South Carolina. The first African American Chief Justice of the state Supreme Court, Justice Finney blazed a trail like few others. In the civil rights activities of the 1960s, Finney, then a local attorney in my hometown of Sumter, represented freedom fighters and Freedom Riders who were arrested, detained, and tried throughout South Carolina. I will miss my friend. My wife Emily and I want to express our deepest sympathies to his family and friends.”