Detroit City Councilman, Civil rights attorney, community activist and crusader for working and poor people. Following his honorable discharge from the United States Air Force in 1959, he attended Wayne State University and earned a bachelor of arts degree in political science in 1964. He graduated from the law school at Wayne State in 1967. Active in politics and left-wing progressive movements, he formed the League of Revolutionary Black Workers and the Labor Defense Coalition. He helped found the law firm Philo, Maki, Ravitz, Pitts, Moore, Cockrel & Robb that specialized in representing individuals and organizations brutalized by social and political injustices. He gained nationwide notoriety when his coalition brought down the powerful, yet racist, STRESS (Stop The Robberies Enjoy Safe Streets) unit of the Detroit Police Department. He was a brilliant advocate for the common man, helping to expose and demolish racial and social injustices wherever it would raise its ugly head, thus uprooting and changing the entire criminal justice system in Detroit. He was extremely popular with the citizens of Detroit, and he was expected to run and be elected as the next mayor to follow Mayor Coleman Young, but his life was cut short too soon when he died suddenly after suffering a massive heart attack.
Bio by: Legacy
Bio by: Legacy
Detroit City Councilman, Civil rights attorney, community activist and crusader for working and poor people. Following his honorable discharge from the United States Air Force in 1959, he attended Wayne State University and earned a bachelor of arts degree in political science in 1964. He graduated from the law school at Wayne State in 1967. Active in politics and left-wing progressive movements, he formed the League of Revolutionary Black Workers and the Labor Defense Coalition. He helped found the law firm Philo, Maki, Ravitz, Pitts, Moore, Cockrel & Robb that specialized in representing individuals and organizations brutalized by social and political injustices. He gained nationwide notoriety when his coalition brought down the powerful, yet racist, STRESS (Stop The Robberies Enjoy Safe Streets) unit of the Detroit Police Department. He was a brilliant advocate for the common man, helping to expose and demolish racial and social injustices wherever it would raise its ugly head, thus uprooting and changing the entire criminal justice system in Detroit. He was extremely popular with the citizens of Detroit, and he was expected to run and be elected as the next mayor to follow Mayor Coleman Young, but his life was cut short too soon when he died suddenly after suffering a massive heart attack.
Bio by: Legacy
Bio by: Legacy
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