Coleman, William T. (William Thaddeus), 1920-2017

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William Thaddeus Coleman Jr. (July 7, 1920 – March 31, 2017) was an American attorney and judge. Coleman was the fourth United States Secretary of Transportation, from March 7, 1975, to January 20, 1977, and the second African American to serve in the United States Cabinet. As an attorney, Coleman played a major role in significant civil rights cases. At the time of his death, Coleman was the oldest living former Cabinet member.

Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he graduated from Germantown High School before earning a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania. Coleman was accepted to the Harvard Law School but left in 1943 to enlist in the United States Army Air Forces, failing in his attempt to join the Tuskegee Airmen. Instead, Coleman spent the war defending the accused in courts-martial. After the war, Coleman returned to Harvard Law, where he became the third black staff member accepted to the Harvard Law Review, and graduated first in his class and magna cum laude in 1946.

He began his legal career in 1947, serving as law clerk to Judge Herbert F. Goodrich of the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and clerk to Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter in 1948. Coleman was one of the lead strategists and coauthor of the legal brief in Brown v. Board of Education (1954) in which the Supreme Court outlawed segregation in public schools. He served as a member of the NAACP's national legal committee, director and member of its executive committee, and president of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund. Coleman was also a member of President Dwight Eisenhower's Committee on Government Employment Policy (1959-1961), a senior consultant and assistant counsel to the President's Commission on the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy (1964), and a consultant to the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency (1963-1975).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 from 1971 to 1972. He was senior partner in the law firm of Dilworth, Paxson, Kalish, Levy & Coleman at the time of his appointment to the Ford administration.

When President Ford appointed him as secretary of Transportation, Coleman became only the second African American to serve in a cabinet post. At Transportation, Coleman was the point man for the administration's changes to the regulations governing the transportation industry. His most controversial decision was in allowing limited transatlantic service for the supersonic transport plant, the Concorde, a decision which angered the majority of environmental groups concerned largely with the effects of noise pollution. Close on the heels of the Concorde decision in terms of controversy was Coleman's decision to defer the mandatory installation of airbags in all new automobiles.

At the end of the Ford administration, Coleman returned to practicing law. He died from complications of Alzheimer's disease at his home in Alexandria, Virginia.

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
creatorOf NONMUSIC RECORDING (COLLECTION) Audio materials, 1956-1977 National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Audio materials, 1956-1977 [sound recording]. Library of Congress
referencedIn Elliot L. Richardson papers, 1780-1999 Library of Congress. Manuscript Division
referencedIn Paul A. Freund papers Harvard Law School Library Langdell Hall Cambridge, MA 02138
referencedIn Harvard University Archives Photograph Collection: Portraits, ca. 1852-ca. 2004 Harvard University Archives.
creatorOf Gerald R. Ford Library Oral History Projects. 1981 - 2006. Oral History Interview Transcripts. 1981 - 2006. Coleman, William T., Jr. (Secretary of Transportation) - Oral History Interview, March 27, 1997 Gerald R. Ford Library
referencedIn Central Michigan University. Office of the President. Annual Addresses to Faculty, 1973,1982. Clarke Historical Library
referencedIn William T. Coleman, Henry L. Marsh, and William T. Mason oral history interviews, 2008-2009 Supreme Court of Virginia Archives, Virginia State Law Library.
creatorOf Philadelphia (Pa.). Police Advisory Board. Correspondence with Johan Thorsten Sellin, 1958-1960. University of Pennsylvania Library
referencedIn LBJ Recording of Telephone Conversation, WH Series, Speaker: WAYNE HAYS, Time: 7:05P Lyndon Baines Johnson Library
creatorOf Coleman, William T. William T. Coleman photographs, 1907-1910 Univerisity of Wyoming. American Heritage Center.
referencedIn Elwood, William A. William A. Elwood Civil Rights Lawyers Project collection [manuscript], 1984-1989. University of Virginia. Library
referencedIn Elliot L. Richardson papers, 1780-1999 Library of Congress. Manuscript Division
Role Title Holding Repository
creatorOf The HistoryMakers Video Oral History with William T. Coleman, Jr. The HistoryMakers
Relation Name
associatedWith Central Michigan University. Office of the President. corporateBody
associatedWith Elwood, William A. person
associatedWith Ford, Gerald R., 1913-2006 person
associatedWith Frankfurter, Felix, 1882-1965 person
associatedWith Goodrich, Herbert F. (Herbert Funk), 1889-1962 person
alumnusOrAlumnaOf Harvard Law School corporateBody
associatedWith National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. corporateBody
associatedWith National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) corporateBody
employeeOf O'Melveny & Myers corporateBody
associatedWith Paul A. Freund person
employeeOf Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison corporateBody
associatedWith Pett, Saul, 1918-1993. person
associatedWith Philadelphia (Pa.). Police Advisory Board. corporateBody
associatedWith Richardson, Elliot L., 1920-1999. person
associatedWith Supreme Court of Virginia Historical Commission. corporateBody
memberOf United States. Army corporateBody
associatedWith United States Reclamation Service. corporateBody
alumnusOrAlumnaOf University of Pennsylvania. corporateBody
Place Name Admin Code Country
Cambridge MA US
New York City NY US
District of Columbia DC US
Philadelphia PA US
Alexandria VA US
Subject
Dams
Flood dams and reservoirs
Irrigation projects
Natural resources
Water resources development
Occupation
Businessmen
Cabinet officers
Federal Government Official
Federal Judge
Jurists
Law clerks
Lawyers
Soldiers
Activity

Person

Birth 1920-07-07

Death 2017-03-31

Male

Americans

English

Information

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