Robert McCants Andrews was born in Sumter, South Carolina, on April 1, 1891. Following his graduation from Howard University in 1915, Andrews went on to study law at Harvard, receiving his law degree in 1919. Shortly thereafter, Andrews took up a post as director of welfare work in Badin, North Carolina, working principally to better the conditions of the Black employees of the Tallassee Power Company at Badin, North Carolina. His "radical" ideas on social and racial equality resulted in his being run out of town by white authorities, resulting in correspondence to the governor's office and to the superintendent of the power plant at Badin. Andrews went on to pass the North Carolina bar in 1921 and opened his own practice in Durham, where he became the principal lawyer for North Carolina Mutual. Known as an impressive litigator and skillful agitator in the pursuit of civil rights, Andrews' promising career was tragically cut short when in July 1932 he developed a medical condition known as peritonitis. He died in Durham on July 5, 1932.