Educational Resources - Judge Constance Baker Motley

The Motley Archive and Exhibit: In 2020 the Chester Historical Society established the Constance Baker Motley Special Collections Archive to gather materials that document the life of Judge Motley in Chester, and to promote her wider legacy in American history. Materials are being catalogued and prepared for digitizing to make them available in the future. The Archive complements the permanent Motley Exhibit mounted in 2019 at the Chester Museum at The Mill in downtown Chester.

  •  Video about Motley in Chester: In 2021 the Society produced a video, Constance Baker Motley in Chester, 1965-2005 on its YouTube channel, narrated by Marta Daniels, and in honor of Judge Motley’s 100th birthday anniversary.

  • Documentary Produced by Joel Motley III:  The kick-off program for the Delaney Series was a lecture and film-showing by Joel Motley III of his award-winning short documentary about his mother, The Trials of Constance Baker Motley  held in the Chester Meeting House. This video is available to view on VIMEO at this link.

  •  Power Point Slide Show and Lecture:  Since 2015, the Chester Historical Society has offered a 50-minute power point program about Judge Motley, Champion for Justice; the program is provided by  Marta Daniels. It is available through the Society.

  • Constance Baker Motley Nature Preserve. In 2017, the Chester Land Trust created the 7-acre Constance Baker Motley Nature Preserve on Judge Motley’s former land on Cedar Lake Road. Open to the public for recreational uses, it memorializes Judge Motley’s long residence in Chester. The Society worked with the Land Trust to create the story board for the entryway, and created the informational take-away brochure about Judge Motley for visitors to learn about her legacy. For further info about the Preserve, visit our webpage here.

  • CT Freedom Trail Motley Heritage Site Dedication: After the Constance Baker Motley Preserve was established, the Society wrote the successful application to the state of Connecticut to place the Preserve and her former home onto the CT Freedom Trail . In 2018, the state approved, and designated Motley’s entire property as a heritage site. It marks one of 160 state sites associated with African Americans who have made significant contributions to justice and human freedom. Watch the Society’s YouTube video of the state’s formal induction ceremony and celebration in 2020 of the Motley CT Freedom Trail heritage site, undertaken in conjunction with Chester Land Trust.

  • Little Rock Nine Hiking Trail: In 2020, the popular Little Rock Nine Hiking Trail was created by the Land Trust within the Preserve. In 2022, the Society wrote and designed an outdoor plaque providing hikers with the history of the Little Rock Nine case, one of Motley’s most famous school desegregation battles in 1957. To view the plaque and for further information about Chester’s Little Rock Nine Trail, visit our webpage here.

  • Books, Films and Other Resources on Judge Motley: Available at the Chester Historical Society’s Chester Museum at The Mill. These include Judge Motley’s hard-to-find 1998 autobiography, Equal Justice Under Law. Also available is the new, comprehensive biography of Motley, Civil Rights Queen, Constance Baker Motley and the Struggle for Equality, by Tomiko Brown Nagin, published in 2022 by Penguin Random House to great acclaim. Quinnipiac University’s PBS-aired documentary on Judge Motley, Justice is a Black Woman: The Life and Work of Constance Baker Motley, is also available as a DVD.

To inquire about resources, email: chestercthistoricalsociety@gmail.com

Additional Public Memorials by Town Organizations: The Chester Historical Society has collaborated with other town-wide organizations to help commemorate the life and legacy of Constance Baker Motley. To learn more about these Chester public memorial efforts, click on the button below.