LDF Receives $50,000 Legacy from Estate of Black Publisher-Physician, Dr. C. B. Powell
Press Release
June 11, 1978

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Press Releases, Volume 6. LDF Receives $50,000 Legacy from Estate of Black Publisher-Physician, Dr. C. B. Powell, 1978. 677aaa69-bb92-ee11-be37-00224827e97b. LDF Archives, Thurgood Marshall Institute. https://ldfrecollection.org/archives/archives-search/archives-item/36dc9b3d-8492-4358-a906-46f6712c9e79/ldf-receives-50-000-legacy-from-estate-of-black-publisher-physician-dr-c-b-powell. Accessed April 19, 2025.
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S RS ee on eee Sines PR wy AACP LEGAL DEFENSE AND EDUCATIONAL FUND. INC. JULIUS L. CHAMBERS OG a 806 15th Street, N.W. HEADQUARTERS 12 Geary Street asia \ Washington, D.C.20006 10 Columbus Circle San Francisco, CA94108 JACK GREENBERG a \ 2) hog COUR 2 Y Y (202) 638-3278 New York, Ny.10019 (418) 788 8736 Director-Counsel a (212) 586-8397 For release For further information: Sunday, June 11, 1978 (212) 586-8397 Anne Dowling or Rufus Smith NOTE TO EDITORS: the NAACP LEGAL DEFENSE AND EDUCATIONAL FUND, I} (LDF) is not a part of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAR ReCsPs) though it was founded by tha organization and shares its commitment to equal rights. For LDF has had its own Board of Directors, budget, staff, office and program. LDF RECZIVES $50,906 FROM ESTATE OF BLACK PUBLISHER - PHYSICIAN, DR. C. B- POWELL Briarcliff Manor, Nev., gune 11 <=- Dr. C. B. Powell, one of New York City's most prominent black citizens, 0) presented a $50,000 legacy to the NAACP Legal Defense and Fund, Inc. (LDF) today. Dr. C. B. and former owner and publisher of the sum to the Legal Defense Fund in his will. A long-time supporter of the civil rights movement, Dr. Powell was an active member of t Lena Powell, widow of 304 JOHN H. FILER National Campai JOHN RICCARDO Chairman National Corporate Con e WILLIAM T. COLEMAN, JR LDF's Board of Directors from 1960 until his death on September 22, 1977 at the age of 83. Mrs. Powell made the presentation to Contributions are deductible for U.S. income tax purposes “The NAACP LEGAL DEFENSE AND EDUCATIONAL FUND, INC. (LDF) is nota part of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People although it was founded by that organization and shares its commitment to equal rights. LOF hashad for 20yearsa sep: arate Board of Directors, program, staff, office and budget ——ssss—-—~St—‘ —™— powell 2. Julius LeVonne Chambers, President and Jack Greenberg, Director- Counsel of the Legal Defense Fund at "An Afternoon in Memory of Cc. B.", a memorial service from four to eight p.m. at the Powell's Westchester home at 265 Hardscrable Road, Briarcliff Manor. The presentation took place at five p.m. Jack Greenberg accepted the $50,000 on behalf of LDF. "Dr. Powell," he said, "was a man of courage, talent and good will. He was unique by any standard and when one remembers that he was born into a time and place when even the educated, skilled black person often was overwhelmed by oppression and institutionalized racism, his accomplishments fill us with awe. With his good fortune he always remembered that there were others who needed help and he gave it generously. It was gratifying to have him on the Legal Defense Fund Board of Directors for so many years. He knew our work well and took his task seriously, bringing to it both sound advice and compassion for those who suffer -- qualities that marked all his efforts, public and private. We will continue to miss him. This major gift to LDF is a fitting memorial, indeed." Mr. Chambers thanked Mrs. Powell and praised the excellence that characterized all that Dr. Powell attempted or accomplished. powell 3. "Tt was not that Dr. Powell was successful in all that he tried that made him unique among black - and white - Americans of his generation, it was that he was the best in everything he did. It is like him that in death, as in life, his thoughts were for those who did not have his advantages. I do not think it presumptuous to say that Dr. Powell, who served on our Board for 17 years, made this bequest because he recognized that the Legal Defense Fund has a record of excellence and achievement that met his high standards." Dr. Powell, who graduated from Howard University Medical School in Washington, D.C. in 1920, began his medical career as New York's first roentgenologist in 1922. He became a successful businessman as well as physician and in 1936 he and a partner bought the New York Amsterdam News for $5,000. Under his leadership the paper, by 1962, was the largest weekly newspaper in America. Dr. Powell also developed a chain of funeral parlors, was an insurance company president, became New York's first black Boxing Commissioner and acquired extensive real estate holdings, becoming a self-made millionaire. He was known for his philanthropy and concern for the "little" person. After becoming a successful doctor he set up a powell 4. scholarship fund at Howard University Medical School from which needy black medical students could borrow tuition. He was one of the first black publishers to unionize his newspaper to assure decent wages for those who worked for him. In addition to his be- quest to LDF, Dr. Powell left a sizeable gift to Howard University in Washington, D. C.