Civil Rights Advocate's Passing Is Mourned

Washington dignitaries and civil rights activists gathered today in the nation’s capital for the funeral of William L. “Bill” Taylor, a lawyer who devoted decades of his life to desegregating U.S. schools. Mr. Taylor died on June 28 at the age of 78 of complications from a fall.

“Bill was one of the very most accomplished desegregation lawyers in the country and successfully litigated many school desegregation suits, which is not a one-time process,” said David J. Goldberg, the senior counsel and senior policy analyst for the Washington-based Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. “Even successful suits require years of enforcement. Bill didn’t just win suits and go away. He stayed engaged.”

Mr. Taylor was the founder and chairman of the Citizens’ Commission on Civil Rights , a government-watchdog organzation based in Washington, and a vice chairman of the Leadership Conference , a coalition of more than 200 national civil and human rights groups. During the 1960s, he was the general counsel and staff director of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights .