Federal courthouse in Tallahassee renamed after state’s first Black Supreme Court judge

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    The Florida A&M University graduate was the first Black justice to sit on the state supreme court and later was the first black person to serve on a federal court of appeals.

    Former Congressman Al Lawson was behind the push to rename the courthouse to honor Hatchett on the House floor last year.

    “We are talking about an individual that gave his career in public service to protect people’s rights, to stand up for those who are less fortunate,” said Lawson. “A person that cared not because of the color of an individual but because of the individual themselves.”

    The courthouse is located at 111 North Adams Street. The building now dons Hatchett’s name along with a sculpture of him.

    He died in April 2021. He was 88.