Melvyn R. Leventhal

Melvyn Rosenman Leventhal (born March 18, 1943)[1] is an American attorney known for his work as a community organizer and lawyer in the 1960s–70s Civil Rights Movement.From 1969 to 1974 he served as the Lead Counsel in Mississippi for the Legal Defense Fund, the litigation arm of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).[7] During spring, summer and winter recesses from law school, Leventhal had worked as a student volunteer at LDF's offices in Jackson, Mississippi, supervised by activist Marian Wright Edelman.He served as LDF's liaison to Martin Luther King, Jr., during the June 1966 Meredith March Against Fear from Memphis, Tennessee, to Jackson.He helped enforce provisions of federal civil rights legislation that had been passed in 1964 and 1965, as well as court rulings to end school segregation.His ten-year career at the LDF was highlighted by three landmark cases: Leventhal also testified before the U.S. Senate's Select Committee on Equal Educational Opportunity in 1970 on the progress of school desegregation in Mississippi.
Civil Rights MovementLegal Defense FundNational Association for the Advancement of Colored PeopleAlice WalkerBrooklyn, New York CityyeshivaBrooklyn Technical High SchoolJackie RobinsonWashington Square CollegeNew York University School of LawNAACP Legal Defense FundReuben V. AndersonFred L. Banks Jr.Mississippi Supreme CourtNew Yorkcivil ceremonyJustine W. PolierRebecca WalkerJackson, MississippiMarian Wright EdelmanMartin Luther King, Jr.Memphis, TennesseeAlexander v. Holmes County Board of EducationSupreme Court of the United StatesNorwood v. HarrisonHawkins v. Town of ShawUnited States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuitschool desegregationEvelyn C. White