New York Times                    Published: February 11, 2005

Edward R. Dudley, 93, Civil Rights Advocate and Judge, Dies

By WOLFGANG SAXON (NYT) 765 words

Edward R. Dudley, a retired New York judge and former borough president of Manhattan whose manifold career took him from civil rights advocacy to an ambassadorship in Africa, died on Tuesday at St. Luke's Hospital in Manhattan. He was 93 and lived in Harlem.

The cause was prostate cancer, his family said.

He also was a teacher, a lawyer for the N.A.A.C.P., a Democratic county chairman and the first African-American to run for statewide office on a major-party ticket in New York. (He was the Democratic-Liberal candidate for attorney general in 1962 but was beaten by the incumbent Republican, Louis J. Lefkowitz.)

Edward Richard Dudley was the son of a dentist in South Boston, Va. During his student years he worked as a bellhop, waiter and real estate clerk in an uncle's office, enrolling as a pre-dental student at Johnson C. Smith College in North Carolina and graduating in 1932 with a B.S. degree.

He taught black children in a one-room school in Virginia and, as he recalled later, soon learned about discrimination in pay. His salary came to $60 a month. White teachers got $115.

After a year at Howard University on a scholarship in dentistry, he moved north and became close to his politically connected uncle, Edward A. Johnson, a real estate developer. He worked odd jobs and signed on with a public works theater project, serving as stage manager for its unit director, the young Orson Welles. The experience may have led to the deep-voiced, deliberate and somewhat dramatic manner of speech of his later career.

After the theater project ended in 1938, he enrolled in law school at St. John's University, received an L.L.B. in 1941 and went into private practice for a brief time.

Encouraged by his family connection, he joined the Carver Democratic Club in Harlem. He became a precinct activist and got a job as an assistant state attorney general that ended when Thomas E. Dewey was elected governor in 1942.

Mr. Dudley went to work for the growing Pepsi-Cola company, drumming up sales at Army camps. Thurgood Marshall, the future Supreme Court justice, persuaded him to join the N.A.A.C.P. legal team in 1943. As an assistant special counsel, he wrote briefs and prepared cases seeking the admission of black students to Southern colleges, equal pay for black teachers and an end to discrimination in public transportation.

He was executive assistant to the governor of the Virgin Islands from 1945 to 1947 and then spent five years as President Harry S. Truman's ambassador to Liberia. It was a key diplomatic post in Africa; he also helped oversee Truman's Point Four program of economic assistance for third world countries.

Returning home in 1953, he practiced law and directed the N.A.A.C.P.'s Freedom Fund. In 1955, Mayor Robert F. Wagner appointed him a justice on the Domestic Relations Court.

He resigned in 1961 when he was elected by the City Council to serve as Manhattan borough president, after a fellow Harlemite, Hulan E. Jack, had to quit the position amid a conflict of interest scandal. Mr. Dudley served the remainder of Mr. Jack's term, and he won election to the post later that year.

As borough president he made moderate-cost housing a priority, to keep the taxpaying middle class in the city. At the same time, he headed the New York County Democratic Committee.

He left the borough presidency at the end of 1964 after winning election to a vacancy on the State Supreme Court. He was re-elected in 1978 and served past the usual retirement age, until 1985. Beginning in 1967, he was administrative judge of the Criminal Court of the City of New York. In 1970, he became administrative judge of State Supreme Court for Manhattan and the Bronx.

Mr. Dudley is survived by his wife of 63 years, Rae Oley Dudley; a son, Edward R. Jr. of Scarsdale, N.Y.; two brothers, Dr. Calmeze Dudley of Los Angeles and Dr. Hubert Dudley of Chicago; and three grandchildren.
 

Photo: Edward R. Dudley was sworn in as Manhattan borough president by Mayor Robert F. Wagner in 1961. He served until the end of 1964. (Photo by Arthur Brower/The New York Times)

University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences

Philip Leon Rayford, Ph. D.

October 10, 2002

Harry Gump Franklin, Class of 1961.  

Harry currently resides in Detroit, Michigan and is married with two adult children; Kelli and Troy, and two grandchildren; Austin and Brooke. He attended Tennessee State University located in Nashville, Tennessee, from 1961 to 1965, graduating with a BS in Aeronautics; and completed some graduate work, towards an MBA, at the University of Detroit.

After working three years (1965-1968) in Nashville, after graduation, he moved to Detroit in 1968 where he began work at  Ford Motor Company, on June 10, 1968, as a graduate trainee Production Supervisor in the Dearborn Frame Plant.  He continued working there for 33 years retiring on June 1, 2001.  

During his tenure at Ford, he held numerous positions including Production Supervisor, Labor Relations Representative, Safety Engineer, Labor Relations Staff Investigator, Plant Labor Relations Supervisor (at two plants), National Programs Trainer, Salaried Personnel Planner, Plant Human Resources Manager (at two plants) and retired as a Division Special Projects Human Resources Manager.  

Before leaving Roanoke, he became a member of Loudon Avenue Christian Church in 1955.  Subsequently, he was a member of Calvin Presbyterian Church of Detroit, and following its closing, joined Westminster Presbyterian Church of Detroit where he continues as a member.

 He has held a number of leadership positions within the church including Deacon, Elder, Treasurer and Chairman of the Finance Committee. He was also a Webelos Leader and Scoutmaster, for the Boy Scouts of America for nine (9) years.  He has coached little league softball and basketball. He has served on the Board of Directors of the YMCA, and currently sits on the Board of two foundations; Detroit Tennessee State University Alumni Association Foundation and Southfield Kappa Foundation. Since its inception, the Southfield Kappa Foundation has provided over $500,000 in scholarship grants to Detroit Area students. 

Harry established the Detroit TSUAA Foundation, in 2004.  This Foundation will provide scholarship grants to Detroit Area students who will attend Tennessee State University. He is a Life Member of LAHS Class of 1961, Tennessee State University Alumni Association and Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. He served as Polemarch (President) of the Southfield (MI) Alumni Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., from 1994-1996. He was the Keeper of the Exchequer (Treasurer) for the Northern Province of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity from 1999-2001. 

From 2001 to the present, he has served as the Senior Province Vice Polemarch (Vice President) for the Northern Province of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc.  The Northern Province has jurisdiction over all chapters, undergraduate and alumni, within the entire state of Michigan, Western New York (Buffalo, Rochester & Syracuse) and Northwestern Ohio Toledo and Bowling Green). He has received numerous Kappa Alpha Psi awards including: the 1989 Committee Person of the Year; 1991 Committee Chairman of the Year and Polemarch’s Award recipient; 1992 Committee Chairman of the Year and Gerald D. Cardwell Award recipient; 1994 Major Contributor Award recipient; 1997 Gerald D. Cardwell Award recipient; 1999 Achiever of the Year Award; 2000 Major Contributor Award recipient; 2001 Gerald D. Cardwell Award and Robert L. Gordon Award recipient; 2002 Achiever of the Year Award recipient, and 2005 Achiever of the Year Award recipient.

Charles Thornhill, Class of 1963.  

LB Charles (Mad Dog) Thornhill was a member of MSU's 1965 and '66 national championship teams. He was famous for his hard hits. (From Michigan State)

Michigan State football great Charles (Mad Dog) Thornhill, a linebacker on MSU's 1965 and '66 national championship teams, died of heart failure Thursday night in Lansing. He was 62.

A native of Roanoke, Va., the 5-foot-10, 204-pound Thornhill was one of a number of black players who came to MSU in the 1960s to play for an integrated program. Along with athletes such as Bubba Smith, Gene Washington, Clinton Jones and George Webster, Thornhill played a significant role in MSU's rise to national prominence under head coach Duffy Daugherty.  He earned his nickname Mad Dog because of his ferocious nature on the football field, from hard hits to his intimidating tactics. He was known to point his finger at opponents, warning them, "Don't run this way again."

"Hitting is the best part of the game," Thornhill was often quoted as saying. "It's fun, and I think football is a fun game. It's not all fun, but without it, football is a boring game." 

Thornhill arrived at MSU in 1964 as a fullback, but was switched to linebacker in the second game of his collegiate career. In 1965-66, the Spartans compiled a 19-1-1 record and boasted one of the top defensive units in the country. In Thornhill's senior year, MSU was ranked third in the nation in run defense with 51.4 yards allowed per game. Thornhill led the team with 102 tackles.

"Charles (Mad Dog) Thornhill is one of the most extraordinary people that I've met in my entire life," said Jones, an MSU running back in 1964-66. "In many ways, his playing career has been overlooked. ... Believe me, Mad Dog was the unsung hero because he helped provide the backbone and foundation of those championship teams." 

The Boston Patriots selected Thornhill in the ninth round of the 1967 NFL draft, but ongoing injuries stifled his attempts at a professional career. After playing semi-pro football and attempting a comeback in the Canadian Football League, Thornhill settled in Lansing, working for 21 years at General Motors Corp. and serving as a sergeant-at-arms in the Michigan Senate since 1992.

Thornhill remained active in the MSU community and with future Spartan teams. He was one of the 45 former players that returned to campus for a ceremony honoring the 1966 team on the 40th anniversary of the "Game of the Century" between MSU and Notre Dame.

"I really got to know Charlie as a person during my stint here as an assistant coach," said current head coach Mark Dantonio. "Charlie was asked to address the football team on several occasions because he really embodied the Spartan tradition. He was very proud of his association with this university and its football program."

 Both of his sons, Josh and Kaleb, would follow in his footsteps by playing his position at MSU. Josh, who played in 1998-2001, was a two-time first-team All-Big Ten selection and youngest son Kaleb is a current member of the Spartan squad. At the end of his junior season, Kaleb was third on the team in tackles, with 68. 

In addition to his sons, Thornhill is survived by his wife, Laureen. Funeral arrangements are pending.

About the Editor

Thomas R. Dudley, Class of 1961

Thomas currently resides in Charlotte, North Carolina with his childhood sweetheart and wife of forty-two years, Peggy Ann Jones, formerly of Roanoke. (Thomas fell for Peggy in 1954 while in Mattie Taylor's fifth grade class at Harrison Elementary School.) They have two sons, Keith and Korey  living in Charlotte. Their middle son, Kevin, now lives in Los Angeles, California. Grandson, Ryan, and granddaughter, Gabriela,  live in the Charlotte area. Grandson, Randall, lives in Chicago.

Thomas is enjoying retirement after retiring from Wells Fargo in early 2011.  Earlier retirments included IBM Corporation in 1997 (30 years) and EDS Corporation in 2003 ( 5 years).  Computers have been his passion since 1967 when he was recruited by IBM and embarked upon a professional career entirely centered on computer technology. He has served in a wide variety of IT roles.  In his early years in  Roanoke, Virginia, he was trained as both a hardware and software engineer - a very rare "double major" within IBM. In 1968, he was the first black professional assigned reponsibilty for maintaining IBM's suite of software products at the prestigious Norfolk & Western Railway Headquarters, the dominant account by far in IBM Roanoke's portfolio. In late 1970, he relocated to IBM Rockville as a software developer or IBM's Systems Design Division. By 1974, he had been promoted Systems Architect and Lead Software Developer at IBM Gaithersburg,MD. In those roles, Thomas  headed two teams responsible for the design, development and maintenance of two field products - IBM's JES2 and JES3 print subsystems that dominated the mainframe computer marketplace in 1970's. It was during this period that Thomas entered management ranks - a role that he and his direct reports  have found mutually satisfying throughout his career.

In later years at IBM Charlotte, he served as Executive Assistant to the Site General Manager, Personal Computer Program Manager, Special Projects Manager  and Executive Consultant.   In the last three roles, he oversaw the introduction into the IBM Charlotte workplace all the early hardware and software innovations that ultimately transformed the workplace  from typewriters amd dumb terminals linked to remote mainframe computers and high-speed impact printers to office desktops, ink-jet printers with the full suite PC software such as early version of Microsoft Office.   In subsequent stints at EDS and Wachovia/Wells Fargo, Thomas added many successful Project Management medium and large scale assignments to his resume.

When IBM introduced the personal  computer in 1981, Thomas' appointment as IBM Charlotte's Personal Computer Program Manager set the stage for a paradigm shift in the role of computers in the workplace. His responsibilities included managing Proof-of-Concept programs for early PC's both in the workplace and in employee homes. His biggest challenge was setting the strategic direction for a shift away for mainframe "dumb terminals" to personal computers as the tool of choice for IBM Charlotte's 4,000 employees at both the  Manufacturing Plant and co-resident Software Development Laboratory. It was during these stints with responsibility for leveraging the potential of  personal computers in employee homes, i.e., electronic cottage,  and work environments  that Thomas first visualized the potential of the personal computer and, later,  the internet as the ideal toolset to liberate black storytellers from the confines and restrictions of their historcal white producers. No longer would black stories need to be filtered and edited by white editors to assuage white consumer sensitivities.  Black storytellers would be no more required to cater to white audiences than white storytellers to black audiences.

Today, Thomas enjoys his free time pursuing his many hobbies, though he freely admits those demanding extensive physical exertion are diminishing in number. His mind, the old saying goes,  is learning to stop "writing checks that his body can't cash". Discovering his family's genealogy is at the top of the activity list.  He is a long time member of Ancestry,com and has built his family tree to include over 1,200 living and dead relatives, including 3rd cousin, Arthur Ashe, whom he linked in 1999.  Along with this Addison website, he has two others in development that should be announced and published in 2012. You can look forward to Thomas continuing to indulge his passion of finding and documenting "hidden" and "lost" pieces of the history of his family, the history of  our Addison family and, eventually, the history of black Roanoke.   Stay tuned !