Arthur Madison was born on November 11, 1883, in Madison Park, Alabama, one of twelve children whose parents were enslaved until 1865. He attended Mobile State Normal School and Howard University before transferring to Bowdoin as a junior; he graduated cum laude. He worked briefly in Haverhill, Massachusetts, before returning to Alabama to operate the Madison Clothing Store in Montgomery, Alabama. He eared a law degree from Columbia Law School in 1923 and became one of the first licensed Black lawyers to practice in Alabama, passing the Alabama Bar in 1938. As a pioneering civil rights lawyer in Alabama, Madison worked tirelessly to enroll Black voters, including supporting Rosa Parks on her third and successful effort to register to vote. He was targeted by the white government of Alabama for his civil rights advocacy and eventually disbarred from practicing in Alabama. He continued to practice law in New York City, where he also served as Father Divine's financial advisor. He died January 18, 1957 following a fall in his Harlem home.
