Brother Wiley Branton

Biography Wiley Branton was born on this date in 1923. He was an African American attorney and civil rights activist.

Born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, Wiley Austin Branton was educated from elementary, junior high, and high school in Pine Bluff schools. An Army veteran of World War II, Branton spent time teaching Blacks how to mark an election ballot after the war. His efforts resulted in his being convicted of a misdemeanor for "teaching the mechanics of voting."

Two years later he received a Doctor of Laws degree from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, where he was the fourth Black student to enroll at the institution and the third Black student to graduate. During his long distinguished legal career, he made significant contributions in the voting rights arena as both a public officer and private citizen.

During the early sixties, he represented "freedom riders" in Mississippi and Blacks engaged in voter registration drives throughout the South. In 1965, Branton moved to Washington, appointed as the Executive Secretary to President Lyndon B. Johnson's Council on Equal Opportunity (19651967). In 1978, he became Dean of the Howard University School of Law, a post he held until September 2, 1983. Wiley Austin Branton died December 15, 1988.

This article retrieved from the "InFratmation" at:  

http://www.tc.umn.edu/~ques/InFRATmation/2008%20April.pdf

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