Clarence M. Pendleton Jr.
Clarence McClane Pendleton Jr. | |
---|---|
Arthur Sherwood Flemming | |
Succeeded by | William B. Allen |
Personal details | |
Born | Educator; Government official | November 10, 1930
Military service | |
Allegiance | United States |
Branch/service | United States Army |
Years of service | 1954–1957 |
Clarence McClane Pendleton Jr. (November 10, 1930 – June 5, 1988) was the politically
Background
A native of
From 1968 to 1970, Pendleton was the recreation coordinator under the
A former
United States Commission on Civil Rights
In his first year in office, President Reagan named Pendleton to replace the liberal Republican commission chairman,
Pendleton denounced the feminist concept of
Under Pendleton's chairmanship, congressional funding for the agency was reduced. This prompted some staff members either to lose their positions or to leave the agency in discouragement.[2] Pendleton was considered acerbic by his liberal critics. William Bradford Reynolds, Reagan's Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, described his friend Pendleton as "a man of candor who felt very deeply that the individuals in America should deal with one another as brothers and sisters totally without regard to race and background."[2]
On December 23, 1983, with two Democratic members named by the House dissenting, Pendleton was reelected to a second term as commission chairman. He drew the backing of Reagan's new appointee, Esther Buckley, an educator from Laredo, Texas.[7]
Under Pendleton's tenure, the commission was split by an internal debate over fundamental principles of equality under the law. The commission narrowed the description of legal and political rights at the expense of social and economic claims. The debate centered principally between Pendleton and Berry, an original appointee of President Jimmy Carter. Democrat Morris B. Abram, also a Reagan appointee, was vice chairman under Pendleton. He described "an intellectual sea change" at the agency with the conservative view dominant at that time. Authorized under the Civil Rights Act of 1957, the commission was reconstituted by a 1983 law of Congress after Reagan dismissed three commissioners critical of his policies.[8]
In the spring of 1986, the
Sudden death
On June 5, 1988, Pendleton collapsed while working out at the San Diego Hilton Tennis Club. He died an hour later of a heart attack at a hospital.[10] President Reagan rang his wife Magrit to offer his condolences, writing in his diary: "Another sad phone call to Clarence Pendleton's widow—a widow as of yesterday. He had a heart attack while riding an exercycle."[11]
The White House released a statement that day from the President which said:[12]
Yesterday, with the sudden death of Clarence Pendleton, America lost a leading apostle of a just and colorblind society...In his uncompromising articulation of the ideal of a colorblind society open to all without regard to race, giving no quarter to either prejudice or preference, Penny insisted that the full brunt of the law should be brought to bear on discrimination. At the same time, he understood that the law must itself not deviate from the Constitution's mandate of nondiscrimination for any reason lest it become a double-edged sword, harming the innocent and poorly serving those most in need of protection... Penny has been taken from us—and my heart goes out to his family and friends—but what Penny leaves us are fond memories of a man who loved life and made us love it more for his time among us, and a fuller confidence, because of his work, that one day all Americans will be judged not by stereotypes and prejudices but on their own merits, qualifications, performance—as Penny often quoted Martin Luther King, Jr., "not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."
On Pendleton's death, Francis Guess, another black Republican on the commission, said that the chairman's colorful statement weakened his debate points: "It is sad that Chairman Pendleton's legacy will revolve around not what he said, but how he said it."[4]
William B. Allen, an African American political scientist formerly at Michigan State University who succeeded Pendleton as the commission chairman and served in that capacity from 1988 to 1989, said that Pendleton "taught us that we could talk about civil rights without being a one-note band. ... We're a symphony. He reminded us that affirmative action was a goal and not a remedy."[4] In his eulogy of Pendleton, Allen refers to the former chairman as "a brave man, whose bravery and great self-sacrifice were summoned by the cause of America, not as a once great accomplishment but as a powerful idea."[13]
A memorial bench dedicated in Pendleton's honor is located in the De Anza Cove section of Mission Bay Park in San Diego.[14]
References
- ^ a b c "Notable Kentucky African Americans Database". uky.edu. Retrieved March 16, 2013.
- ^ a b c d e "Clarence M. Pendleton, Jr". aapra.org. Archived from the original on October 19, 2013. Retrieved March 15, 2013.
- ^ a b "Clarence Pendleton, A Controversial Politician". aaregistry.org. Archived from the original on November 12, 2012. Retrieved March 16, 2013.
- ^ a b c d "Gerald B. Jordan, "Pendleton Is Remembered Kindly But Colleague Regrets Official's Sharp Rhetoric," June 7, 1988". articles.philly.com. Retrieved March 16, 2013.
- ^ The Washington Post, December 17, 2001
- JetMagazine, December 10, 1984, p. 19. 1984-12-10. Retrieved March 16, 2013.
- ^ "Reagan Choice Heads Panel, December 23, 1983". nytimes.com. 23 December 1983. Retrieved March 15, 2013.
- ^ Pear, Robert (14 October 1985). "Robert Pear, "Civil Rights Agency Splits in Debate on Narrowing Definition of Equality", October 14, 1985". nytimes.com. Retrieved March 16, 2013.
- ^ "Pendleton and Civil Rights, May 1, 1986". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 15, 2013.
- ^ Los Angeles Times, June 6, 1988
- ^ "Diary Entry- 06/06/1988".
- ^ "Statement on the Death of Clarence Pendleton".
- ^ "Clarence M. Pendleton, Jr.: A Eulogy" (PDF). williambarclayallen.com. Retrieved March 16, 2013.
- ^ "Clarence M. Pendleton, Jr., San Diego, California". waymarking.com. Retrieved March 16, 2013.