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ColemanDJmech.indd 1 10/1/10 10:39 AM “Bill Coleman’s story is one that younger generations should mark and inwardly digest, lest they forget the pioneers who helped to make a better America possible.” From the Foreword by Stephen G. Breyer W illiam Coleman has spent a lifetime opening doors and breaking down barriers. He has been an eyewitness to history; moreover, he has made history.This is his inspiring story, in his own words. Americans of color faced daunting barriers in the 1940s. Despite graduating first in his class at Harvard Law and clerking for Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter, Coleman was shut out of major East Coast law firms. But as the Philadelphia native writes,“The times, they were a’changing.” He not only benefited from that change—he helped propel it, by way of dogged determination , undeniable intellect, and stellar accomplishment. Coleman’s legal work with Thurgood Marshall and the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund helped jumpstart the civil rights movement in the 1950s. He was the first American of color to clerk for the Supreme Court, and later served as senior counsel to the Warren Commission, investigating the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. In 1975 he was appointed secretary of transportation by President Gerald Ford—the first American of color to serve in a Republican cabinet—and in 1995 he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Bill Clinton. ColemanDJmech.indd 1 10/1/10 10:39 AM [3.144.189.177] Project MUSE (2024-04-17 08:56 GMT) COUNSEL FOR THE SITUATION 00-0488-1 fm.indd 1 9/29/10 1:32 PM 00-0488-1 fm.indd 2 9/29/10 1:32 PM [3.144.189.177] Project MUSE (2024-04-17 08:56 GMT) ...