RIP John Payton – Renowned Civil Rights Advocate
By: Steve Grumm
John Payton, most recently the president of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, died yesterday at a young 65 years of age. Here’s more from the National Law Journal:
Celebrated civil rights attorney John Payton, president and director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, died late March 22 following a brief illness, the organization confirmed.
Payton’s career spanned more than three decades in private practice, where he was one of the first African-American partners at a major law firm in Washington, and public service. He was a renowned member of the U.S. Supreme Court bar as well as a fierce advocate of pro bono work.
Payton, 65, was a “true champion of equality,” President Barack Obama said in a statement. “The legal community has lost a legend, and while we mourn John’s passing, we will never forget his courage and fierce opposition to discrimination in all its forms.”
Mr. Payton’s Washington, DC roots ran deep. After graduating from Harvard Law School, he became one of Washington’s first minority partners at a major law firm. Payton’s work included a tenure as chief counsel for the DC government and a term as president of the DC Bar.
The NLJ article includes praise of Payton from those who occupy rarified air in DC’s legal community, and is worth reading.