2003 Assembly Joint Resolution 8
ENROLLED JOINT RESOLUTION
Relating to: the life and public service of Lloyd A. Barbee.
Whereas, Lloyd A. Barbee was born on August 17, 1925, in Memphis, Tennessee, and died on December 29, 2002, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; and
Whereas, he graduated from Booker T. Washington High School in Memphis; and
Whereas, Mr. Barbee earned a B.A. degree in economics in 1949 from LeMoyne College in Memphis and a J.D. degree in 1956 from the University of Wisconsin-Madison; and
Whereas, he served his country as a member of the U.S. Navy during World War II from 1943 to 1946; and
Whereas, Lloyd Augustus Barbee was a tireless freedom fighter, civil rights leader, civil rights attorney, Wisconsin state representative, professor of Africology at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and role model of moral and ethical behavior for the entire world; and
Whereas, he also taught at the University of Wisconsin Law School and the Bronx Community College of the City University of New York; and
Whereas, according to the Wisconsin Lawyer: "Lloyd Barbee is probably the most important figure of the 20th century in Wisconsin civil rights."; and
Whereas, Mr. Barbee served as chairman of the Milwaukee United School Integration Committee (MUSIC); and
Whereas, in 1965, Mr. Barbee filed the lawsuit in federal court on behalf of both African American children and white children that led to the ruling that Milwaukee's public schools were unconstitutionally segregated; and
Whereas, from 1969 to 1973, he served as president of Freedom Through Equality, a Milwaukee group established to reform laws detrimental to the poor; and
Whereas, Mr. Barbee was first elected to the Wisconsin assembly in 1964 (Milwaukee, 6th — later renumbered the 18th — Assembly District), serving in the 1965 through 1975 sessions; and
Whereas, during his tenure in the legislature, Mr. Barbee quickly earned a reputation as a stalwart advocate for social change, even when there was little chance for political success; and
Whereas, he introduced legislation to repeal laws on what he called "victimless crimes" and was an early advocate for open housing and eliminating job discrimination; and
Whereas, Mr. Barbee received numerous awards and honors, including the American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin Eunice Z. Edgar Award for Lifetime Civil Liberties Achievement and the Wisconsin Association of Minority Attorneys
Award for Inspirational Leadership and Outstanding Dedication; and
Whereas, in 1999, Mayor John Norquist named a Milwaukee street "Barbee Street" in Mr. Barbee's honor; and
Whereas, Mr. Barbee received an honorary doctoral degree in sociology from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 2001; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the assembly, the senate concurring, That the members of the Wisconsin legislature commend the devoted public service that Lloyd A. Barbee contributed to this state and his community, express their sorrow at his death, and extend their condolences to his family and friends; and, be it further
Resolved, That the assembly chief clerk shall provide a copy of this joint resolution to Mr. Barbee's daughter, Daphne Eurydice Barbee-Wooten; to his sons, Finn Thacher Barbee and Rustam Aaron Barbee; and to his brother, Quinten Barbee.
