Randall L. Kennedy, a Harvard Law School professor described Judge Perry's career as helping to ''create federal law that enlarged our liberty'', and that his cases are taught ''in every law school across the United States'', per the nytimes.com article.
It would be difficult to measure how many men and women Perry helped and inspired, through word and deed, over the years.
Judge Perry was known for his tenacity, along with being non-confrontational. In the 1950s and 60s, he handled cases for the NAACP that would result in desegregation of a number of institutions, including schools, hospitals and restaurants, and won rulings by the United States Supreme Court, thus overturning the convictions for 7,000 plus people who were involved in sit-ins.
In 1976, Mr. Perry was appointed by President Gerald R. Ford to the United States Military Court of Appeals. He was the second black man, and the first from the Deep South to serve in this role.
He was named by President Jimmy Carter to a new seat on the Federal District Court in South Carolina in 1979. Serving in this role, he was the state's first black federal judge.
Other major victories to Perry's credit included the desegregation of Clemson University and the University of South Carolina, as well as winning the release of over a dozen men from death row.
Civil rights lawyer and federal judge Robert Carter was quoted as having written about Perry in an essay, from the book ''Matthew J. Perry: The Man, His Times, and His Legacy'': ''He is the only militant civil rights figure I know who seems to be loved by both racial groups while still engaged in the struggle'', per the nytimes.com article.
Born in 1921 in Columbia, South Carolina, Perry served in an all-black U.S. Army unit during WW II, from 1943-1946, after being drafted. He earned a B.S. from South Carolina State College in 1948 and an LL.B. from South Carolina State College in 1951.
He struggled while in private practice, sometimes accepting food as payment for cases he took. Prohibited from sleeping in motels on cases that took him out of town, he was forced to drive home, regardless of the distances. His pluck and determination would see him sworn in as a federal judge by Justice Thurgood Marshall of the Supreme Court.
Judge Perry worked until the day he died, serving as a senior judge.
His legacy to the legal profession is truly immeasurable, and will undoubtedly continue to inspire and educate people everywhere, including students of law and private citizens alike.
