Clifford Leopold Alexander Jr. (September 21, 1933 – July 3, 2022) was an American lawyer, businessman and

public servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...

from New York City. He first served on the

National Security Council A national security council (NSC) is usually an executive branch governmental body responsible for coordinating policy on national security issues and advising chief executives on matters related to national security. An NSC is often headed by a n ...

during the

Kennedy administration John F. Kennedy's tenure as the List of presidents of the United States, 35th president of the United States began with Inauguration of John F. Kennedy, his inauguration on January 20, 1961, and ended with Assassination of John F. Kennedy, his ...

, before becoming chairman of the

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is a federal agency that was established via the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to administer and enforce civil rights laws against workplace discrimination. The EEOC investigates discrimination ...

in 1967. He was appointed

Secretary of the Army The secretary of the Army (SA or SECARMY) is a senior civilian official within the United States Department of Defense, with statutory responsibility for all matters relating to the United States Army: manpower, personnel, reserve affairs, insta ...

a decade later, becoming the first African American to hold the position. He served in that role until 1981.

Early life and background

Alexander was born in

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater ...

on September 21, 1933. His father immigrated to the United States from Jamaica and managed the

Riverton Houses The Riverton Houses is a large (originally 1,232 unit) residential development in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City. Ownership The project was proposed by the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company in 1944, and largely served an African American p ...

; his mother, Edith (McAllister), was a community leader who was an adviser on civil rights to several mayors. Alexander attended the private Ethical Culture and Fieldston schools. He then studied government at

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate education, undergraduate college of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Part of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Scienc ...

, graduating in 1955. He was the first African American to be elected president of its student council. He subsequently studied at

Yale Law School Yale Law School (YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824. The 2020–21 acceptance rate was 4%, the lowest of any law school in the United ...

. After graduating in 1958, he enlisted in the New York

National Guard National guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. ...

and served briefly with the 369th Field Artillery Battalion at

Fort Dix, New Jersey Fort Dix, the common name for the Army Support Activity (ASA) located at Joint Base McGuire–Dix–Lakehurst, is a United States Army post. It is located south-southeast of Trenton, New Jersey. Fort Dix is under the jurisdiction of the Air For ...

Career

Early years and National Security Council

After being admitted to the bar, Alexander served as an assistant

district attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represen ...

for

New York County Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the smallest county by area in the U.S. state of New York. Located almost entire ...

under

Frank Hogan Frank Smithwick Hogan (January 17, 1902 – April 2, 1974) was an American lawyer and politician from New York. He served as New York County District Attorney for more than 30 years, during which he achieved a reputation for professionalism and ...

from 1959 to 1961. He then became executive director of the Manhattanville Hamilton Grange Neighborhood Conservation Project, before serving as program and executive director of Harlem Youth Opportunities. Alexander was first called to

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

in 1963 to serve as a foreign affairs officer on the

staff, having been recommended to

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...

McGeorge Bundy McGeorge "Mac" Bundy (March 30, 1919 – September 16, 1996) was an American academic who served as the U.S. National Security Advisor to Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson from 1961 through 1966. He was president of the Ford Fou ...

. He became the administration's unofficial adviser on race, with Kennedy asking him to observe the

March on Washington The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom (commonly known as the March on Washington or the Great March on Washington) was held in Washington, D.C., on August 28, 1963. The purpose of the march was to advocate for the civil and economic rig ...

. Alexander later served as deputy special assistant to

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, under whom he had served a ...

, associate special counsel, and deputy special counsel on the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

staff all during the span of 1964 to 1967. Throughout Johnson's presidency, Alexander continued to act as his go-between with the African American community, notably in the aftermath of the

assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr., an American civil rights activist, was fatally shot at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4, 1968, at 6:01 p.m. CST. He was rushed to St. Joseph's Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 7:05& ...

As a special representative of the President, Alexander headed the American delegation to ceremonies marking the independence of the Kingdom of Swaziland in 1968.

Chairman of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

Alexander was appointed as the chairman of the U.S.

in 1967. During his tenure he elevated the agency to play a significant role in fighting workplace discrimination. He resigned from the agency in 1969, after President Richard Nixon demoted him from chairman to commissioner.

Private practice

Alexander practiced law with the Washington firm of Arnold and Porter between 1969 and 1975. He eventually became its first Black partner, and successfully pressed the firm to employ graduates from

Howard University School of Law Howard University School of Law (Howard Law or HUSL) is the law school of Howard University, a private, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is one of the oldest law schools in the country and the old ...

. He also hosted a television talk show ''Cliff Alexander: Black on White'' from 1972 to 1976. He ran unsuccessfully in the 1974 Democratic primary for the first directly-elected

mayor of the District of Columbia The mayor of the District of Columbia is the head of the executive branch of the government of the District of Columbia. The mayor has the duty to enforce district laws, and the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the D.C. Council. ...

, losing by 4,000 votes (53%-47% total) to Walter Washington, who won the general election. He subsequently joined Verner, Lipfert, Bernhard, McPherson and Hand the following year. He also taught as a professor of law at Howard and

Georgetown University Law Center Georgetown University Law Center is the Law school in the United States, law school of Georgetown University, a Private university, private research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It was established in 1870 and is the largest law ...

Secretary of the Army

Alexander returned to public service as Secretary of the Army under the

Carter Administration Jimmy Carter's tenure as the List of presidents of the United States, 39th president of the United States began with Inauguration of Jimmy Carter, his inauguration on January 20, 1977, and ended on January 20, 1981. Carter, a Democratic Party ...

, serving from 1977 to 1981. He was the first African American appointed to this Cabinet position. During this time, he concentrated upon improving the all-volunteer Army, stressing programs to enhance professionalism, and emphasizing the award of contracts to minority businesses to fulfill the federal commitment to encourage diversity. He also sought to eliminate barriers to women and racial minorities being promoted to the rank of

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

. One of the beneficiaries of Alexander's efforts was

Colin Powell Colin Luther Powell ( ; – ) was an Americans, American diplomat, and army officer who was the 65th United States secretary of state from 2001 to 2005. He was the first African-American to hold the office. He was the 15th National Security ...

, who finished second in his class at the

Army Command and General Staff College The United States Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC or, obsolete, USACGSC) at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, is a graduate school for United States Army and sister service officers, interagency representatives, and international military ...

. Alexander also endorsed the increases in salary for military personnel and

military budget A military budget (or military expenditure), also known as a defense budget, is the amount of financial resources dedicated by a state to raising and maintaining an armed forces or other methods essential for defense purposes. Financing milita ...

at the end of the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

, stating that it was "a quality Army" with members who "work hard ndtake their training and their missions seriously".

Later life

After his tenure as Secretary of the Army ended in 1981, Alexander formed the consulting firm of Alexander and Associates with his wife. In addition, he served on the boards of directors of several national corporations and was a member of the Board of Governors of the

American Stock Exchange NYSE American, formerly known as the American Stock Exchange (AMEX), and more recently as NYSE MKT, is an American stock exchange situated in New York City. AMEX was previously a mutual organization, owned by its members. Until 1953, it was known ...

. He served as a political and campaign advisor to

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

in 2008. During an interview for the Koeppel report in the 1980, Alexander confessed that he expected to die before seeing an African-American Senator, President or head of a Fortune 500 company. Alexander was outspoken in his opposition to the "

Don't Ask, Don't Tell "Don't ask, don't tell" (DADT) was the official United States policy on Sexual orientation in the United States military, military service of homosexual people. Instituted during the Presidency of Bill Clinton, Clinton administration, the pol ...

" policy of the military, signed a statement in November 2008 calling for its repeal so that gays could serve openly. He also expressed his point of view on the matter in his interviews by

Rachel Maddow Rachel Anne Maddow ( ; born April 1, 1973) is an American television news program host and liberal political commentator. She hosts '' The Rachel Maddow Show'', a weekly television show on MSNBC, and serves as the cable network's special event ...

on April 3 and May 11, 2009, as well as on June 28, 2013.

Personal life and death

Alexander married Adele Logan in 1959. She became a history professor at

George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by ...

. They remained married until his death. Together, they had two children: Elizabeth Alexander and Mark C. Alexander. Elizabeth wrote and recited the poem " Praise Song for the Day" at the

first inauguration of Barack Obama The first United States presidential inauguration, inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th president of the United States took place on Tuesday, January 20, 2009, at the West Front of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. The 56th ina ...

in 2009. Mark is the first African American dean of the

Villanova University School of Law The Charles Widger School of Law (known as Villanova Law) is the law school of Villanova University, a private Roman Catholic research university in Villanova, Pennsylvania. It was opened in 1953 and is approved by the American Bar Association (A ...

. Alexander was a member of

Omega Psi Phi Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. () is a List of African-American fraternities, historically African-American Fraternities and sororities, fraternity. It was founded on November 17, 1911 at Howard University. Omega Psi Phi is a founding member of ...

fraternity. He relocated to

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

in 2013. He died on July 3, 2022, at his home in Manhattan. He was 88, and suffered from heart failure prior to his death.

Notes

References

External links

Clifford Alexander's oral history video excerpts
at The National Visionary Leadership Project * {{DEFAULTSORT:Alexander, Clifford Jr. 1933 births 2022 deaths 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American lawyers Arnold & Porter people Candidates in the 1974 United States elections Carter administration personnel Chairs of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Deaths from congestive heart failure in the United States Ethical Culture Fieldston School alumni Harvard College alumni Howard University faculty Lawyers from New York City Lawyers from Washington, D.C. Lyndon B. Johnson administration personnel Military personnel from New York City New York (state) Democrats New York National Guard personnel People from Harlem Television personalities from Washington, D.C. United States Secretaries of the Army Washington, D.C., Democrats Yale Law School alumni 20th-century African-American lawyers