Melvyn Leventhal Oral History
Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Melvyn Leventhal got his start in civil rights by working summers in Jackson, Mississippi, while a student at New York University School of Law. He settled in Mississippi after law school, becoming the first man in a legally recognized interracial marriage in the state. He served as LDF’s lead counsel in Mississippi from 1969 to 1974, during which he won the first of his Supreme Court cases, Norwood v. Harrison. He returned to New York City in 1975 and served as the Deputy First Assistant Attorney General of New York and Chief of Litigation Bureau.
Highlighted excerpt:
Melvyn Leventhal reflects on the courage of the clients he represented
Cite this item:
Mel Leventhal interview for the Legal Defense Fund Oral History Project. Interviewed by Susie Penman on September 23, 2023 in Manhattan, New York. Conducted in collaboration with the Southern Oral History Program at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
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