Retiring Judge, 80, Is A Testament To The American Dream; Giving A "Helping Hand"

Headline: RETIRING JUDGE, 80, IS A TESTAMENT TO THE AMERICAN DREAM \ GIVING A "HELPING HAND"
Reporter: By Greg Freeman

Publication: ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
Last Printed: Tue., Mar. 23, 1999
Section: METRO, Page: B1, Edition: FIVE STAR LIFT

Theodore McMillian took a second to ponder. The 80-year-old judge had been asked how he wished to be remembered.
"I think I'd like to be looked on not for anything I've accomplished or for any material thing that I have gathered, " he said. "Instead, I'd like to be remembered for how many times I was able to look over my shoulder and give a helping hand to someone behind me, to pull him or her up so he, too, could participate in the American dream."

McMillian has certainly participated in the American dream. A member of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals since 1978, McMillian jumped some amazing hurdles to get to where he is.
He was born in 1919 in St. Louis, a city that was much different than it is today. His family had been part of the great migration of blacks north from Mississippi, to a city that, while segregated, had jobs for blacks and allowed them to vote.
McMillian grew up in the city's old Kerry Patch neighborhood, a diverse area of Irish Catholics, Jews and blacks, with Germans and Poles not far away. He graduated from Vashon High School after three years. He went to Lincoln University in 1941 and joined the Army in 1942.

After his discharge in 1946, McMillian thought about going to medical school. But a minority quota system pushed back the date when he could apply to 1951. Joking that his wife wouldn't be able to support him for that long, he went to law school at St. Louis University instead.
That was a good experience for him, with some exceptions, such as an incident where he was barred from one hotel, a rebuff from a U.S. district judge in St. Louis, George H. Moore, who declined to give a speech at the hotel because the school "had that 'nigra' out there."
McMillian graduated first in his class in 1949, but because of his race was unable to find work with any of the top downtown law firms. Instead, he accepted an offer from St. Louis Circuit Attorney Edward L. Dowd to be an assistant prosecutor. McMillian accepted the job with gusto, doing such an outstanding job that he was named the state's first African-American judge in 1956. He became a state appeals court judge in 1972 before accepting the appointment by President Jimmy Carter to the U.S. circuit court position in 1978.

McMillian became accustomed over the years to being the first black to do this or that. "Being first was sometimes lonely, " he said. "I often didn't have anyone of my own background that I could discuss issues with. But I often found my colleagues to be very open and supportive."
He recalled one such incident in 1957 when he attended his first judicial conference in Springfield, Mo., at the Kentworth Arms Hotel. "When I got ready to go into the dining room, I was stopped and told that I couldn't go in. The judges then lifted the whole program out of the Kentworth Arms Hotel and never returned until about 23 years later. To me, that made a big impression that they wouldn't tolerate that type of treatment for one of their own."

Throughout his life, McMillian has dealt with discrimination. But he refuses to be bitter, choosing instead to remain optimistic. In a commencement speech to Vashon High School in 1967, McMillian challenged the black graduates.
   "It used to be that a person growing up in the ghetto, growing up as a minority member within the pale-faced world, could grab for himself some handy excuses as to why it was no use to try, or as to why he didn't make the grade."
   In some places, those excuses held water, he said. "But in the world you are entering, the notion that color is going to hold back a man or a woman will hold less and less water. And eventually the water will evaporate entirely.
   "Will you be the one to have the courage to move into an all-white neighborhood when the opportunity arises? Or will you back away from such a challenge?"

So what has McMillian learned in his 80 years? "First and foremost, that everyone should be given a chance, " he said. "I realize that we are not created equal, but everyone should be given an opportunity so that he or she can become a part of the American dream."

An excellent wish from someone whose life epitomizes that dream.

McMillian will be honored for his lifetime of community service and his 50-year legal career at a dinner Saturday at America's Center. Proceeds from the dinner will go to a minority scholarship fund established in his name at the St. Louis University School of Law. For more information, call ....

Daniel Schesch - Webweaver

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