|
|
Walter Gordon
By Jonathan Wafer,
Great Grandson
Walter Arthur Gordon was born in Atlanta, Ga, in 1894. When he
was 10 years old his family moved to Riverside, where he graduated from high
school. His father was a Pullman porter and moved his family to California, like
many Negroes at that time, looking for a better opportunity.
Walter’s father greatly influenced him. Those who knew Walter said he was always
quoting his father. When they came to Riverside and he and his brother Edwin
went to school their father told them, “Now listen, you’re going to a school
where there are whites and Negroes, and I don’t want either of you to come home
crying to me, telling me that you’re not getting a square deal on account of
your color.”
In 1914 Walter entered the University of California, Berkeley. During his
undergraduate years his scholarship was considerably above average. He was
active in campus affairs. For example, he co-founded and was a charter member of
the Alph Phi Alphi fraternity on campus, which is still alive today. He was an
intercollegiate wrestler and boxer, winning the state championship in both. He
played football with coach Andy Smith’s early teams, playing every position
except center. In 1918, his senior year, Walter Camp selected him as
All-American, Berkeley’s first.
The 10 years after he graduated were unbelievably busy for my great-grandfather.
Andy Smith chose him to be an assistant football coach, a position that he held
for 24 years under four different head coaches. He was also chief scout for many
of the great Cal football teams, one team in particular, the group labeled “The
Wonder Team”—a team that went undefeated one year, thoroughly dominating its
opponents en route to a Rose Bowl victory over Ohio State.
August Vollmer, Berkeley’s chief of police at the time, invited him to join the
police department, where he became the first Negro officer. He served on a
full-time basis for 10 years. In addition to that he enrolled in Boalt Hall
School of Law in 1921.
I remember a time schedule that my great-grandmother used to show me which
described his daily schedule. He barely had enough time to sleep, let alone
study. In 1920 he married Elizabeth Fisher and they eventually had two sons and
a daughter. One of the sons, Walter Gordon Jr., is my grandfather.
In 1923 Walter Sr. began a new career. After graduating from Boalt he passed the
California bar and began private practice from an office above the Wells Fargo
building at the corner of University and San Pablo in west Berkeley. Walter
Gordon was also President of the Alameda County NAACP from 1923 to 1933. During
a 10-day period he recruited 500 new members.
Walter Gordon continued his private practice until 1944. During that time and
after he did a number of things. He continued his coaching and scouting work. He
was a member of the executive board of the University YMCA. For six years he was
a member of the Oakland YMCA board. He was vice-president of the Lawyer’s Guild
of San Francisco and a member of the Commonwealth Club of California.
In 1943 California Gov. Earl Warren, a longtime friend, named Walter Gordon to
the Board of Prison Terms, on which he served until the adoption of the then new
California Adult Authority.
Then, in 1955, President Eisenhower appointed him governor of the Virgin
Islands, a position he held for three years. In 1958, he was named U.S. District
Judge for the Virgin islands, and he served on that court until his retirement
in 1969 when he returned to Berkeley.
In 1991, The Walter Gordon Memorial Fund was established at Boalt Hall for
summer internships.
|
Family Photograph
~
Walter Gordon was the first African American
Policeman in Berkeley, California
He
was also the first African American to receive a
doctorate of law from UC Berkeley's Boalt Hall
Law School.
In 1955, he was appointed Governor of the Virgin
Islands.
Three years later, he resigned as Governor to
take an appointment as a Federal Judge of the
U.S. District Court for the Virgin Islands.
|