Gertrude Rush
A pioneering Iowa attorney who broke racial and gender barriers, then helped build a national organization to support Black lawyers excluded from the mainstream bar.
1880–1962 (age 82)·American lawyer·Birthday: August 5·The Gilded Age
Biography
Gertrude Rush practiced law at a time when courtrooms were almost exclusively the domain of white men. In 1918, she became the first Black woman admitted to the Iowa bar, a solitary achievement in a hostile landscape. Her practice in Des Moines handled the essential, often overlooked legal needs of her community—wills, deeds, family matters. This experience of professional isolation fueled her larger vision. In 1925, recognizing that the American Bar Association did not welcome Black attorneys, she became a key founder of the National Bar Association, creating a vital network for advocacy, mentorship, and collective strength. Rush was also a community pillar, deeply involved in her church and women's clubs, using every tool available to advance civil rights and education. Her legacy is one of foundational institution-building, paving a way where there was none.
The Gilded Age
1860–1882
Born during or after the Civil War, they built industrial America — the railroads, the steel mills, the first skyscrapers. An era of massive wealth, massive inequality, and the belief that the future belonged to whoever could build it fastest.
Gertrude was born in 1880, placing them squarely in The Gilded Age. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Gertrude Was Born
The biggest hits of 1880
Gertrude's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1880Born
Edison patents the incandescent light bulb
President: Rutherford B. Hayes
1885Started school
Karl Benz builds the first gasoline-powered automobile
President: Grover Cleveland
1893Became a teenager
World's Columbian Exposition dazzles Chicago
President: Grover Cleveland
1896Could drive
First modern Olympic Games held in Athens
President: Grover Cleveland
1898Could vote
Spanish-American War; US emerges as a world power
President: William McKinley
1901Turned 21
Queen Victoria dies, ending the Victorian era
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1910Turned 30
Halley's Comet makes its closest approach
President: William Howard Taft
1920Turned 40
Women gain the right to vote in the US
Home: $3,395President: Woodrow Wilson"Swanee" — Al Jolson
1930Turned 50
Pluto discovered
Gas: $0.20/galHome: $3,510President: Herbert Hoover"Body and Soul" — Paul WhitemanBest Picture: All Quiet on the Western Front
1940Turned 60
The Blitz: Germany bombs London
Gas: $0.18/galHome: $2,938Min wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"I'll Never Smile Again" — Tommy DorseyBest Picture: Rebecca
1950Turned 70
Korean War begins
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $7,354Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Goodnight Irene" — Gordon Jenkins & The WeaversBest Picture: All About Eve
1960Turned 80
Kennedy-Nixon debates become first televised presidential debates
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $11,900Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Theme from A Summer Place" — Percy FaithBest Picture: The Apartment
1962Died at 82
Cuban Missile Crisis brings the world to the brink
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $12,800Min wage: $1.15/hrPresident: John F. Kennedy"Stranger on the Shore" — Acker BilkBest Picture: Lawrence of Arabia
Key Achievements
- Became the first African-American woman to be admitted to practice law in the state of Iowa in 1918.
- Was a founding member of the National Bar Association in 1925, serving as its first female president.
- Maintained a successful solo legal practice in Des Moines for over four decades.
Did You Know?
She was also a published playwright and author of a book of poems.
Before studying law, she worked as a teacher and school principal.
She was married to a lawyer, James B. Rush, who supported her legal studies.
“The law must be a tool for the people, not a weapon against them.”
