BURKE MARSHALL HEADS JUSTICE DEPT'S CIVIL RIGHTS DIVISION
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) Burke Marshall* was appointed to head the civil rights division of the Justice Department fifty-seven years ago, February 2, 1961, by President John F. Kennedy. His official title was Assistant Attorney General for civil rights. Mr. Marshall had been a specialist in anti-trust cases with a respected Washington, D.C. law firm.
Robert Dallek, in his book "In Camelot's Court," quotes Bob Kennedy as saying...
"What I wanted was a tough lawyer who could look at things objectively and give advice--and handle things properly. I didn't want...someone...who was...dealing from emotion and who wasn't going to give what was in the best interest of President Kennedy..."
The first meeting of the 38 year old Washington lawyer with President Kennedy apparently did not go well. JFK said afterward..."I have nothing in common with that man."
The civil rights movement, however, would bring commonality to President Kennedy and Burke Marshall. In one of his first challenges, the deputy Attorney General for civil rights advised JFK to authorize federal protection for the freedom riders.
Mr. Marshall concentrated on results. He favored using the federal government's constitutional power to regulate interstate commerce which he was to use as a basis to write the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
Burke Marshall resigned in December 1964. President Lyndon B. Johnson said...
"I have never known any person who rendered a better quality of public service."
*Burke Marshall (1922-2003) was born in Plainfield, N.J. He earned his BA at Yale in 1943 and his LLD in 1951. He served in the US army in WWII as a Japanese linquist and cryptoanalyst. As deputy AG in the Kennedy Justice Department, Marshall played a critical role in the desegregation of the south.
SOURCES
"Camelot's Court, Inside the Kennedy White House," by Robert Dallek, Harper Publishing Company, New York, 2013.
"Prof. Burke Marshall Dies at 80," June 2, 2003, www.law.yale.edu/
Burke Marshall
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) Burke Marshall* was appointed to head the civil rights division of the Justice Department fifty-seven years ago, February 2, 1961, by President John F. Kennedy. His official title was Assistant Attorney General for civil rights. Mr. Marshall had been a specialist in anti-trust cases with a respected Washington, D.C. law firm.
Robert Dallek, in his book "In Camelot's Court," quotes Bob Kennedy as saying...
"What I wanted was a tough lawyer who could look at things objectively and give advice--and handle things properly. I didn't want...someone...who was...dealing from emotion and who wasn't going to give what was in the best interest of President Kennedy..."
The first meeting of the 38 year old Washington lawyer with President Kennedy apparently did not go well. JFK said afterward..."I have nothing in common with that man."
The civil rights movement, however, would bring commonality to President Kennedy and Burke Marshall. In one of his first challenges, the deputy Attorney General for civil rights advised JFK to authorize federal protection for the freedom riders.
Mr. Marshall concentrated on results. He favored using the federal government's constitutional power to regulate interstate commerce which he was to use as a basis to write the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
Burke Marshall resigned in December 1964. President Lyndon B. Johnson said...
"I have never known any person who rendered a better quality of public service."
*Burke Marshall (1922-2003) was born in Plainfield, N.J. He earned his BA at Yale in 1943 and his LLD in 1951. He served in the US army in WWII as a Japanese linquist and cryptoanalyst. As deputy AG in the Kennedy Justice Department, Marshall played a critical role in the desegregation of the south.
SOURCES
"Camelot's Court, Inside the Kennedy White House," by Robert Dallek, Harper Publishing Company, New York, 2013.
"Prof. Burke Marshall Dies at 80," June 2, 2003, www.law.yale.edu/
Burke Marshall
Deputy Attorney General
for civil rights
LBJ Library Photo
LBJ Library Photo
