In this exploration of Civil Rights lawyering, spanning from 1865 to 1968, Dr. Holly Slay Ferraro (Associate Professor of Management and the Faculty Director for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Teaching and Research at the Villanova University School of Business) provides insight into its evolution through Reconstruction, the Golden Age of Black Business, and the Civil Rights era. Drawing from the work of legal scholars, she explores how the occupational identity of Black civil rights lawyers is intricately linked not only to their work tasks and social identity but also to the social identities of their clients. Dr. Ferraro discusses the influence of societal contexts and the evolving role of the courts on the professional identities of these lawyers, offering new perspectives that enrich our understanding of occupational identity.