William Thaddeus Coleman Jr.
Bill Coleman | |
---|---|
Judge of the United States Court of Military Commission Review | |
In office September 21, 2004 – December 17, 2009 | |
Appointed by | George W. Bush |
Preceded by | Position established |
Succeeded by | Scott Silliman |
4th United States Secretary of Transportation | |
In office March 7, 1975 – January 20, 1977 | |
President | Gerald Ford |
Preceded by | Claude Brinegar |
Succeeded by | Brock Adams |
Personal details | |
Born | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. | July 7, 1920
Died | March 31, 2017 Alexandria, Virginia, U.S. | (aged 96)
Political party | Republican |
Spouse | Lovida Hardin |
Children | 3, including William and Hardin |
Education | University of Pennsylvania (BA) Harvard University (LLB) |
Military service | |
Allegiance | United States |
Branch/service | United States Army |
Rank | Second lieutenant |
Unit | United States Army Air Corps |
Battles/wars | World War II |
William Thaddeus Coleman Jr. (July 7, 1920 – March 31, 2017) was an American
Early life and education
Coleman was born to Laura Beatrice (née Mason) Coleman and William Thaddeus Coleman Sr. in
He graduated
Coleman was accepted to the
Career
He began his legal career in 1947, serving as
Coleman was hired by the New York law firm of
He served as a member of the NAACP's national legal committee, director and member of its executive committee, and president of board of the
During the Warren Commission's investigation into the assassination of John F. Kennedy, the commission received word via a backchannel that Fidel Castro, then Prime Minister of Cuba, wanted to talk to them. The Commission sent Coleman as an investigator and he met with Castro on a fishing boat off the coast of Cuba. Castro denied any involvement in the assassination of President Kennedy during Coleman's three-hour questioning. Coleman reported the results of his investigation and interview with Castro directly to Commission Chairman Earl Warren, the Chief Justice of the United States.[9]
Coleman was co-counsel to the petitioners in McLaughlin v. Florida (1964), in which the Supreme Court unanimously struck down a law prohibiting an interracial couple from living together.[1] In 1969, he was a member of the U.S. delegation to the twenty-fourth session of the United Nations General Assembly.
Coleman was also a member of the National Commission on Productivity (1971–1972). Coleman served in the boardrooms of
In 1973, Coleman became the first Black member of the Union League of Philadelphia.[10]
Cabinet post
Post-Cabinet service and honors
On leaving the department, Coleman returned to Philadelphia and subsequently became a partner in the Washington office of the Los Angeles-based law firm O'Melveny & Myers. Colman argued a total of 19 cases before the Supreme Court.[1] He appeared for the respondent in the argument and reargument of Garcia v. San Antonio Metropolitan Transit Authority (1985). In 1983, with the election quickly approaching, the Reagan administration stopped supporting the IRS's position against Bob Jones University that overtly discriminatory groups were ineligible for certain tax exemptions. Coleman was appointed to argue the now unsupported lower court position before the Supreme Court, and won in Bob Jones University v. United States.[16]
Coleman was elected to the
Coleman was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 2001.[19]
In September 2004, President George W. Bush appointed Coleman to the United States Court of Military Commission Review.[11]
In June 2006, Coleman received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement.[20]
In December 2006, Coleman served as an honorary pallbearer during the state funeral of Gerald Ford in Washington, D.C.[21][not specific enough to verify][22]
Personal life
In 1945, Coleman married Lovida Mae Hardin (1923–2020). They had three children: Lovida H. Coleman, Jr. (1949–2018);
Coleman Jr. died from complications of Alzheimer's disease at his home in Alexandria, Virginia on March 31, 2017, aged 96.[1]
See also
- List of African-American United States Cabinet members
- List of law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States (Seat 2)
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Hevesi, Dennis (1 April 2017). "William T. Coleman Jr., Who Broke Racial Barriers in Court and Cabinet, Dies at 96". The New York Times. p. A24. Retrieved 4 April 2017.
- ^ a b c Schudel, Matt (March 31, 2017). "William T. Coleman Jr., transportation secretary and civil rights lawyer, dies at 96". Washington Post. Retrieved March 31, 2017.
- ^ "Prominent Pi Gamma Mu Members-entry for William T. Coleman". Pi Gamma Mu Fraternity. Retrieved April 4, 2017.
- ^ "Alpha Phi Alpha Politicians". The Political Graveyard. Retrieved 2009-12-11.
- ^ William T. Coleman Jr. with Donald Bliss, Counsel for the Situation (Brookings Institution Press 2010), pages 53 & 71.
- ^ Greenhouse, Linda (2006-08-30). "Supreme Court Memo; Women Suddenly Scarce Among Justices' Clerks". The New York Times.
- ^ "Paul Weiss, Diversity".
- ^ Eyes on the Prize; America, They Loved You Madly; Interview with William Coleman, retrieved 2021-01-25
- ^ "Warren Commission questioned Fidel Castro, new book reveals". CBS TV. Yahoo News. October 25, 2013. Retrieved April 1, 2017.
- ^ Guelzo, Allen C. "Union League of Philadelphia". Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia. Retrieved 2024-03-13.
- ^ a b
"Military Commission Review Panel Takes Oath of Office". United States Department of Defense. 2004-09-22. Archived from the original on 2008-10-23. Retrieved 2008-11-02.
William T. Coleman Jr., Ford administration secretary of transportation. Coleman's public service includes advisory or consultant positions to six presidents. Coleman was a member of the U.S. delegation to the 24th session of the United Nations General Assembly in 1969. He graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1946.
- ^ "Flights are tests for SST". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). (Washington Post). February 5, 1976. p. 1.
- ^ Perkins, Jay (February 5, 1976). "Despite okay, Concorde still faces stormy path". Free Lance-Star. (Fredericksburg, Virginia). Associated Press. p. 1.
- ^ "2 Concordes zip supersonic travel age into U.S." Pittsburgh Press. UPI. May 24, 1976. p. 1.
- ^ "Concorde lands in U.S." Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). (AP photo). May 25, 1976. p. 1.
- ISBN 1579247105.
On April 19, the Court announced that it would not allow the NAACP to join the case, and in a step considered unprecedented by legal scholars and 'extraordinary' even to the NAACP's leadership, the Supreme Court appointed a prosecutor of its own—black attorney and civil rights activist William T. Coleman. Bob Jones III commented that 'this puts the court in the position of creating an issue to be litigated and insisting that an issue be heard when one of the two litigants declares 'no contest'.
- ^ "William Thaddeus Coleman". American Academy of Arts & Sciences. Retrieved 2021-10-11.
- ^ "List of recipients of honorary degrees". Gettysburg College. Archived from the original on 2015-03-11. Retrieved 2017-01-13.
- ^ "APS Member History". search.amphilsoc.org. Retrieved 2021-10-11.
- American Academy of Achievement.
- ^ "Honorary Pallbearers at Funeral Services for President Gerald R. Ford". Gerald Ford Presidential Library. Retrieved March 31, 2017.
- ^ Ritchie, Donald (January 2, 2007). "Transcript: The Ford Funeral". Washington Post. Retrieved March 31, 2017.
Notes
- George P. Shultz.
Further reading
- Todd C. Peppers, "William Thaddeus Coleman, Jr.: Breaking the Color Barrier at the US Supreme Court." Journal of Supreme Court History 33.3 (2008): 353–370. online
External links
- Biography at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum Archived 2009-01-22 at the Wayback Machine
- Biography at AmericanPresident.org
- William Coleman's oral history video excerpts at The National Visionary Leadership Project
- ALI Reporter
- "Remarks by the President in Presentation if the Presidential Medal Of Freedom" – September 29, 1995
- Appearances on C-SPAN