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Proclamation honoring in memoriam Wendell Freeland, a Tuskegee airman of WWII, respected lawyer, and pioneering civil rights leader.
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WHEREAS, Mr. Wendell G. Freeland, a legendary civil rights leader, Tuskegee Airman, political activist, and prominent Pittsburgh defense attorney passed away from this life on January 23, 2014; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Freeland is frequently recalled for his service as a bombardier with the 477th Bombardment Group, a component of Tuskegee Airmen who, during World War II, became the military's first black pilots. Until his passing, Mr. Freeland was recognized as one of the three remaining Tuskegee Airman residing in and around his hometown of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, having moved there in the early 1950s; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Freeland was also a part of what is now called "The Freeman Field Mutiny," a precursor to the sit-ins of the civil rights movement. He was twice arrested for asserting African-American officers' right to enter a "whites only" officers club; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Freeland, a cum laude graduate of Howard University, is lauded as having been the first African American elected to the Order of the Coif, an honorary legal fraternity, while earning his law degree at the University of Maryland School of Law; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Freeland, a highly respected lawyer, was the first president of the Neighborhood Legal Services Association, a member of the Judicial Conduct Board of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, a member of the Appellate Rules Committee of the Supreme Court, a member of the Pennsylvania Bar Association House of Delegates, chairman of the Federal Court Section of the Allegheny County Bar Association, a member of the Executive Board of the Trial Lawyers in Criminal Court, a member of the Allegheny County Bar Association Committee on Opportunities for Minorities in the Legal Profession, and a chairman of the Homer S. Brown Law Association; and
WHEREAS, from 1962 to 1967, Mr. Freeland served as chairman of the board of directors of the Urban League of Pittsburgh, and he served as senior vice-president for the national organization. He also served as board chairman of the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies from 1981 to 1992. He was a member of the board of trustees of the University of Pittsburgh, Westminster College and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that Allegheny County Council does hereby honor in memoriam Mr. Wendell G. Freeland for his dedicated service to his nation, his community and his fellow man. Allegheny County was fortunate to have Mr. Freeland as a resident, leader and inspiration to many and his legacy of service, commitment and fortitude will live on forever.