WASHINGTON — William T. Coleman Jr., a civil rights lawyer from
Philadelphia who prevailed in several landmark Supreme Court cases,
broke a number of racial barriers in his own right and was the second
African-American to lead a Cabinet-level department, has died.
Transportation secretary during the Ford
administration and co-author of the main brief in Brown v. Board of
Education, Coleman was a prominent Republican who advised presidents of
both parties.
He died Friday at his home from complications related to Alzheimer's disease, his daughter, Lovida Coleman, said. He was 96.
Coleman's service in Ford's Cabinet from 1975
to 1977 was a high point in a career that included work on government
commissions and partnerships in law firms in Philadelphia and
Washington.
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Source: NBC News
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