Eleanor Holmes Norton: “There have been only six leaders of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund since Thurgood Marshall first went on the bench. You…”

“There have been only six leaders of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund since Thurgood Marshall first went on the bench. You can imagine what quality of lawyer it takes to fill the role that Thurgood Marshall had at the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund. {time} 1950 John Payton was worthy of the role, worthy to become the sixth leader of the Legal Defense Fund. If one looks at John's professional credentials, you would have thought that's enough of a life for a man, considering particularly that he is an African American who went to college and law school when blacks were only beginning to be admitted to the best colleges and law schools in the country. Before his life was over--much too early--John had been listed on this decade's list of most distinguished lawyers in our country. He had been president of the District of Columbia Bar. John's life and work, of course, are etched in important Supreme Court cases. However, we, in the District of Columbia, feel especially the loss of John Payton because John Payton was--what was called Corporation Counsel is now called Attorney General of the District of Columbia. He took that post when he was asked by the Mayor to leave private practice in order to become the lead lawyer in the District of Columbia. To understand John, though, one has to see how this extraordinary man melded his love of the law--including private practice--with the love of his professional life, civil rights.…”