It is hard to know who you are referring to, as there were quite a few African American lawyers practicing in Detroit by 1946. The first black graduate from U of M's Law School was Oscar Baker, who graduated in 1902. In 1905 Robert C. Barnes and Walter Stowers were partners in a law firm in Detroit. In 1923, the first black female, Grace Costavos Murphy, was an attorney in Detroit. By 1932, black attorneys Harold Bledsoe, Charles Diggs, Sr. and Joe Craigen were practicing along with other black attorneys in Detroit. Perhaps, Bledsoe is who you are referring to he was appointed by the Gov of Michigan to head the unemployment commission.