Henry T. Wingate '69

Wingate graduated from Grinnell in 1969 with a B.A. in philosophy and received a law degree from Yale University in 1972. After serving with the offices of the U.S. attorney and district attorney in Mississippi, he became in 1985 the first African American appointed to Mississippi’s federal bench. He continues to serve as federal judge for the Southern District of Mississippi. Earlier, he served in the U.S. Navy’s Judge Advocate General’s Corps and taught at Golden Gate University, Mississippi College School of Law, Mississippi Judicial College, and the University of Houston Law Center. He has won several national and local service awards and has been active in community affairs in Jackson, Miss. He received an honorary degree from Grinnell in 1986.