Stanley Eugene Tolliver, Sr. (October 29, 1925 – January 3, 2011) was an

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

attorney,

school board A board of education, school committee or school board is the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or an equivalent institution. The elected council determines the educational policy in a small regional are ...

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life o ...

activist, and radio

talk show host Below is a list of talk show A talk show (or chat show in British English) is a television programming or radio programming genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.Bernard M. Timberg, Robert J. Erler'' (2010Television T ...

Early life and career

Born in

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

, Tolliver graduated from

East Technical High School East Technical High School or East Tech is a secondary school under the operation of the Cleveland Metropolitan School District in Cleveland, Ohio. History The school, when it opened on October 5, 1908, was the first public trade school in the ci ...

in 1944 where he won the state championship in the 440-yard dash and the Ohio State Vocal Contest. His early hobbies were playing the

violin The violin, sometimes known as a '' fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone ( string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument ( soprano) in the family in regu ...

and

heavyweight boxing Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 3 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the Wor ...

. After graduation, he went on to earn his

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

at Baldwin - Wallace College (now Baldwin Wallace University) in 1948. During his time there, he

majored An academic major is the academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits. A student who successfully completes all courses required for the major qualifies for an undergraduate degree. The word ''major'' (also called ''conce ...

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

, ran on a

relay team A relay race is a racing competition where members of a team take turns completing parts of racecourse or performing a certain action. Relay races take the form of professional races and amateur games. Relay races are common in running, orient ...

with

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

gold medalist A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have be ...

Harrison Dillard William Harrison "Bones" Dillard (July 8, 1923 – November 15, 2019) was an American track and field athlete, who is the only male in the history of the Olympic Games to win gold in both the 100 meter (sprints) and the 110 meter hurdles, maki ...

and was the founding president of

Beta Sigma Tau Beta Sigma Tau () was a social fraternity founded at Roosevelt University in . In , most of its active chapters were absorbed into Pi Lambda Phi fraternity. Beta Sigma Tau was known for being a fraternity "open to all Races and Religions". Histo ...

, a pioneering interracial fraternity that merged into

Pi Lambda Phi Pi Lambda Phi (), commonly known as Pi Lam, is a social fraternity with 145 chapters (44 active chapters/colonies). The fraternity was founded in 1895 at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Pi Lambda Phi is headlined by prestigious chapte ...

. Tolliver went on to attend the John Marshall School of Law (now the Cleveland State University College of Law) pass his

bar exam A bar examination is an examination administered by the bar association of a jurisdiction that a lawyer must pass in order to be admitted to the bar of that jurisdiction. Australia Administering bar exams is the responsibility of the bar associat ...

in 1953 and to earn a

Legum Doctor Legum Doctor (Latin: “teacher of the laws”) (LL.D.) or, in English, Doctor of Laws, is a doctorate-level academic degree in law or an honorary degree, depending on the jurisdiction. The double “L” in the abbreviation refers to the ear ...

degree in 1968 and a Juris Doctor degree in 1969. In the interim Tolliver was drafted into the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

, served in the

Counterintelligence Corps The Counter Intelligence Corps (Army CIC) was a World War II and early Cold War intelligence agency within the United States Army consisting of highly trained special agents. Its role was taken over by the U.S. Army Intelligence Corps in 1961 and ...

from 1951 to 1953 where he was a private first class. In 1965 Tolliver and Cleveland attorney Harold Tiktin were two of the legions of voting-rights activists descended on the South in an effort to end black disenfranchisement. They volunteered there for a week, assisting as legal advisors to those who were attempting to register to vote for the first time, following the passage of the Voting Rights Act. He served as legal counsel for the Reverend Dr.

Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...

, the

Southern Christian Leadership Conference The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) is an African-American civil rights organization based in Atlanta, Georgia. SCLC is closely associated with its first president, Martin Luther King Jr., who had a large role in the American civ ...

, and the

Congress of Racial Equality The Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) is an African-American civil rights organization in the United States that played a pivotal role for African Americans in the civil rights movement. Founded in 1942, its stated mission is "to bring about ...

. In 1968, he represented Fred Ahmed Evans, who was

convicted In law, a conviction is the verdict reached by a court of law finding a defendant guilty of a crime. The opposite of a conviction is an acquittal (that is, "not guilty"). In Scotland, there can also be a verdict of " not proven", which is co ...

of murder in a Glenville Shootout with police. During the case, Ahmed Evans' brother William "Bootsie" was shot to death in the doorway of Tolliver's Quincy Avenue office. Police did not charge the shooter and said he was thwarting a robbery. Tolliver occasionally had a contentious relationship with law departments and often accused police of

misconduct Misconduct is wrongful, improper, or unlawful conduct motivated by premeditated or intentional purpose or by obstinate indifference to the consequences of one's acts. It is an act which is forbidden or a failure to do that which is required. Misc ...

and

prosecutors A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the common law adversarial system or the Civil law (legal system), civil law inquisitorial system. The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the ...

of selectively pursuing convictions. He also believed that police who killed someone should undergo alcohol tests as promptly as possible – as civilian suspects are required to. In 1968, shotgun blasts from a

drive-by shooting A drive-by shooting is a type of assault that usually involves the perpetrator(s) firing a weapon from within a motor vehicle and then fleeing. Drive-by shootings allow the perpetrator(s) to quickly strike their target and flee the scene before ...

barely missed family members in the living room of his house.

Later career

In 1970, Tolliver became the only African American attorney involved in the defense of the students charged in the

Kent State shootings The Kent State shootings, also known as the May 4 massacre and the Kent State massacre,"These would be the first of many probes into what soon became known as the Kent State Massacre. Like the Boston Massacre almost exactly two hundred years bef ...

. Together with other Ohioans, Tolliver also led the call for the

Cleveland Public Schools Cleveland Metropolitan School District, formerly the Cleveland Municipal School District, is a public school district in the U.S. state of Ohio that serves almost all of the city of Cleveland. The district covers 79 square miles. The Cleveland ...

desegregate Desegregation is the process of ending the separation of two groups, usually referring to races. Desegregation is typically measured by the index of dissimilarity, allowing researchers to determine whether desegregation efforts are having impact o ...

. In 1977 he was admitted to the

U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

. After state and local boards of education were found guilty of operating a segregated

school system State schools (in England, Wales, Australia and New Zealand) or public schools (Scottish English and North American English) are generally primary or secondary schools that educate all students without charge. They are funded in whole or in pa ...

, Tolliver was appointed to the Committee on the Office of School Monitoring and Community Relations in 1978. From its inception, Tolliver's

law practice In its most general sense, the practice of law involves giving legal advice to clients, drafting legal documents for clients, and representing clients in legal negotiations and court proceedings such as lawsuits, and is applied to the professi ...

was characterized by an audacious defense of underdogs. Sometimes Tolliver met with failure, as with Melvin Bay Guyon, who killed

FBI Agent The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...

Johnnie Oliver, or Mark DiMarco, who kidnapped and murdered Mary Jo Pesho in the 1990s. In 1981 he was elected to membership on the Cleveland Board of Education and in his twelve years of service, was elected board President twice. Beginning with this appointment, he often spoke on the value of more parental involvement in the lives of Cleveland schoolchildren and was firmly entrenched in the issues of

in the community. He was also a lifelong member of the NAACP.

Other volunteer work

Tolliver served as Chairman of the Board of

Trustees Trustee (or the holding of a trusteeship) is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, is a synonym for anyone in a position of trust and so can refer to any individual who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility to t ...

at Antioch Baptist Church, was elected president of the Norman S. Minor Bar Association and the local chapter of the National Conference of Black Lawyers. For his work with the NAACP, he was awarded the coveted NAACP Freedom Award and a street was named after him in Cleveland for his work there.

Radio show

Tolliver hosted the weekly radio show, "Conversations with Stanley E. Tolliver, Sr." on WERE-AM. The show took telephone calls from listeners and consisted of a dialogue about

politics Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that stud ...

and events in Cleveland, with emphasis on the plight of poor people and the effort to improve the lives of minorities and include black history in the

school curriculum In education, a curriculum (; : curricula or curriculums) is broadly defined as the totality of student experiences that occur in the educational process. The term often refers specifically to a planned sequence of instruction, or to a view ...

Personal life

A lifelong runner, Tolliver completed a marathon in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

in his 50s, won a 400-meter race at a

Senior Olympics The National Senior Games (Senior Olympics) are a sports competition for senior citizens in the United States. It is conducted by the National Senior Games Association (NSGA) once every two years. Akin to the Summer Olympics, it is a multi-spo ...

and jogged through

University Circle University Circle is a district in the neighborhood of University on the East Side of Cleveland, Ohio. One of America's densest concentrations of cultural attractions and performing arts venues, it includes such world-class institutions as the C ...

in his 80s. Tolliver was married to the former Dorothy Olivia Greenwood in 1951. They remained married for 49 years until her death in 2001; their marriage produced three children. He also sported a large collection of wide brimmed hats and was a soloist in the Sanctuary and Gospel choirs, and the Men's Chorus at Antioch Baptist Church.

Death

Tolliver died on the morning of January 3, 2011 at the Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center due to complications from congestive heart failure (it was erroneously stated in the news that he died from cancer). He was 85 years old.

References

Mississippi Burning
clevelandmagazine.com

External links

Biographical sketch at "The History Makers"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tolliver, Stanley 1925 births 2011 deaths African-American lawyers Ohio lawyers American talk radio hosts American anti-racism activists American community activists Senior Olympic competitors NAACP activists Cleveland–Marshall College of Law alumni Radio personalities from Cleveland Lawyers from Cleveland University of Pennsylvania Law School alumni United States Army soldiers Activists from Ohio 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American people