Jack Greenberg

Significance: One of the leading civil rights attorneys in the post–World War II (1941–45) period, Greenberg took on countless cases, many before the Supreme Court, aimed at breaking down legalized racial segregation in the United States.

The son of Eastern European Jewish immigrants, Greenberg grew up in New York City. After graduation from Columbia University and a tour in the Navy (including participation in the Iwo Jima landing), Greenberg entered Columbia Law School. While there, he developed his lifelong interest in civil rights law and began his long and productive career with the Legal Defense Fund (LDF) of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Greenberg first worked under his friend Thurgood Marshall from 1949 until 1961, then took over when Marshall was appointed judge of an appeals court, staying with the LDF until 1984. He regularly entered southern courtrooms, battling to overturn the separate but equal doctrine of Plessy v. Ferguson (1896).

Greenberg also appeared before the Supreme Court dozens of times to argue against race discrimination in housing, public accommodations, and employment. His most important work, however, was to dismantle segregation in the US educational system, first in higher education and eventually throughout the system. He played a significant role in Brown v. Board of Education (1954). In addition, Greenberg was instrumental in the temporary abolition of the death penalty, arguing that it was used disproportionately against African Americans. In 1984, he left the LDF to teach at the Columbia Law School and five years later was named dean of Columbia College.

Though he stepped down from his position as dean in 1993, Greenberg continued to teach at Columbia until his retirement in 2015. During that time, in 2001, President Bill Clinton honored him with the Presidential Citizens Medal. Throughout his career, he wrote several books and numerous journal articles on law, social change, and civil rights, including a 2004 nonfiction work about the landmark Brown v. Board of Education case. For the remainder of his life, he would continue championing integration and equal opportunity, solidifying the extent of his impact on civil rights.

Following several years of reported treatment for Parkinson's disease, Greenberg died at his home in Manhattan on October 12, 2016, at the age of ninety-one; he had been the last surviving lawyer who had defended the Brown v. Board of Education case. He is survived by his wife, Deborah Cole Greenberg; three children from his first marriage; two children adopted from his second marriage; and five grandchildren.

Bibliography

Ford, Matt. "Remembering Jack Greenberg." The Atlantic, 13 Oct. 2016, www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/10/jack-greenberg-obituary/504083/. Accessed 2 Nov. 2016.

Gately, Gary. "Jack Greenberg, Civil Rights Lawyer Who Helped Argue Brown v. Board, Dies at 91." The Washington Post, 12 Oct. 2016, www.washingtonpost.com/national/jack-greenberg-civil-rights-lawyer-who-helped-argue-brown-v-board-dies-at-91/2016/10/12/066a55a6-90c0-11e6-a6a3-d50061aa9fae‗story.html. Accessed 2 Nov. 2016.

"Jack Greenberg." LDF, NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, www.naacpldf.org/jack-greenberg-biography. Accessed 2 Nov. 2016.

Peralta, Eyder. "Jack Greenberg, Civil Rights Icon Who Argued Brown v. Board of Education, Dies." NPR, 13 Oct. 2016, www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/10/13/497841007/jack-greenberg-civil-rights-icon-who-argued-brown-v-board-dies. Accessed 2 Nov. 2016.

Severo, Richard, and William McDonald. "Jack Greenberg, a Courthouse Pillar of the Civil Rights Movement, Dies at 91." The New York Times, 12 Oct. 2016, www.nytimes.com/2016/10/13/us/jack-greenberg-dead.html. Accessed 2 Nov. 2016.