Hosea T. Lockard was an African-American Criminal Court Judge in the U.S. State of Tennessee for Shelby County. He was born in Ripley, Tennessee, and was raised on a farm in the nearby town of Henning by Albert and Lucille Lockard, also of Ripley. He grew up during segregation and attended public schools in Memphis, Tennessee, 50 miles southwest of Ripley because African-Americans were not allowed to attend the all-white public schools in Ripley.