The HistoryMakers® Video Oral History Interview with Leo Branton, Jr.
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| Repository: | The HistoryMakers |
| 1900 S. Michigan Avenue |
| Chicago, Illinois 60616 |
| (312) 674-1900 |
| info@thehistorymakers.com |
| http://www.thehistorymakers.com |
| Interviewer: | Julieanna Richardson |
| Videographer: | Scott Stearns |
| Title: | Video Oral History Interview with Leo Branton, Jr. |
| Dates: | July 27, 2001 |
| Abstract: | (ABSTRACT) |
| Quantity: | 8 Betacam SP videocassettes, 1 half-Hollinger box containing (NUMBER) folders of accompanying materials. |
| Identification: | A2001.004 |
| Language: | The interviews and records are in English |
The personification of both Black Hollywood and Perry Mason, Leo Branton, Jr. was born on February 17, 1922, in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Branton is the oldest of Leo Branton, Sr. and Pauline Wiley's five children. The importance of education was stressed in the Branton household, as his mother was a graduate of Tuskegee Institute and all five children received college degrees.
After Branton graduated from Tennessee State University in 1942, he enrolled in the Army, serving in a segregated unit for almost three years during World War II. Upon completion of his service, Branton enrolled in Northwestern University Law School, receiving his J.D. degree in 1948.
Following graduation from law school, Branton moved to California. There were no integrated or African American law firms at the time he established his own private practice. In 1950, he worked with the NAACP on the trial of an African American veteran charged in the double murder of a white couple in Riverside County, California. His work on this case and his subsequent challenge to the jury system in Riverside County led to the selection of the county's first black juror.
Branton is well known both as a litigator and as an entertainment attorney. His first clients in the entertainment industry were Nat King Cole and Dorothy Dandridge. Branton represented Cole from 1958 until his death in 1965. He also represented the Platters, Inger Stevens and Dalton Trumbo.
Another important part of Branton's diverse career was his involvement in the civil rights movement. Branton made several trips to the South during the 1960s, lending his legal skills and knowledge. He defended thirteen members of the Los Angeles chapter of the Black Panther Party against an unlawful attack by the Los Angeles Police Department. His most celebrated case, however, was the successful defense and acquittal of celebrated civil rights activist Angela Davis. Davis' case lasted several months before her acquittal in 1972 of all charges.
Branton practiced law for a total of fifty-two years. For his work, he has received awards from the city of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Tribune, the California State Senate, and the NAACP Legal Education and Defense Fund. Branton is currently retired but still lends his pro bono services to causes and people in need.
Biographical Note by The HistoryMakers®
This life oral history interview with Leo Branton, Jr. was conducted by Julieanna Richardson on 2001-07-27 in Residence of Leo Branton, Los Angeles, California and is recorded on 8 30-minute Betacam SP videocassettes. Access copies exist on Betacam SP, VHS, DVD and MPEG-1. The interview contains information on (COMPLETE ONE SENTENCE DESCRIPTION OF INTERVIEW). Accompanying materials in the collection include Leo Branton, Jr.'s correspondence with The HistoryMakers® related to the interview; a copy of the signed release form and the production report; the biographical information used by the interviewer to prepare for the interview (DETAILS); paper copies of the interview transcripts, 3 1/2" floppy disks with electronic copies of the transcripts; selected quotes for video clips; photocopies of photographs captured on video; XML files with metadata created in editing and cataloguing the interview for The HistoryMakers Digital Video Library; and paper copies of these XML files.
Restrictions on Access
Access to paper records is restricted. Other restrictions may be applied on a case-by-case basis.
Restrictions on Use
All use of materials must be pre-approved by The HistoryMakers® and appropriate credit must be given. All use credits must be pre-approved by The HistoryMakers®. Copyright is held by The HistoryMakers®.
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| This record series is indexed under the following controlled access terms. |
| Contributors: |
| | Branton, Leo, Jr. |
| | Richardson, Julieanna |
| | Stearns, Scott |
| Persons: |
| | (PERSONS) |
| Corporate Bodies: |
| | (CORPORATE BODIES) |
| Family Names: |
| | Branton |
| Places: |
| | (PLACES) |
| Subjects: |
| | (SUBJECTS) |
| Document Types: |
| | Video oral history interview |
| Titles: |
| | The HistoryMakers® Video Oral History Interview with Leo Branton, Jr. |
Accompanying materials: Accompanying materials are filed in (NUMBER) folders in a half-Hollinger box and shelved at The HistoryMakers® Archives and Collection Library by accession number, separately from the videos.
Betacam, VHS, DVD and MPEG-1 access copies are held for in-house use at The HistoryMakers®; Betacam SP, VHS and DVD playback hardware is provided for in-house viewing of the access copies; MPEG-1 copies are searchable and viewable via a digital video database.
The HistoryMakers® Video Oral History Interview with Leo Branton, Jr., July 27, 2001. The HistoryMakers® African American Video Oral History Collection, 1900 S. Michigan Avenue Chicago, Illinois.
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Video Oral History Interview with Leo Branton, Jr., Tape 1, July 27, 2001, TRT: 00:30:36:30.
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| Attorney Leo Branton, Jr. remembers growing up in Pine Bluff, Arkansas during the 1920s and 1930s where his family were at the top of the town's well-educated African American elite. His family's social status did not shield them from exposure to racism and discrimination, and he recalls that even as a child he was greatly angered by whites' disrespect for blacks. Branton also discusses his father's and mother's backgrounds and his mixed Native American, Caucasian and African American heritage. |
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Video Oral History Interview with Leo Branton, Jr., Tape 2, July 27, 2001, TRT: 00:29:21:01.
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| Attorney Leo Branton, Jr. describes his youth in Pine Bluff, Arkansas up to his dramatic departure at age eighteen. His father had a successful taxicab business and his mother's family, the Wileys, had for years been at the top of the African American socioeconomic strata in Pine Bluff, so Branton's family fared better than most during the Great Depression. Branton talks about the schools he attended and his youthful career aspirations. He also recalls examples of his angry and sometimes defiant reactions to ingrained practices of Southern "racial etiquette" such as disparity in forms of address--blacks being required to call all whites "Mr." or "Mrs." but whites addressing blacks by their first names or by "Aunt", "Uncle", etc. He recounts in detail an incident during his college years, in which a white man struck Branton, who then hit back and was charged with assault. His family's (relatively) respected status and cordial relationship with local authorities allowed him to remain free on bond throughout his trials and appeals, and the charges were eventually vacated. Branton's experiences with the legal system stirred in him an interest in law as a profession. |
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Video Oral History Interview with Leo Branton, Jr., Tape 3, July 27, 2001, TRT: 00:30:53:12.
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| Attorney Leo Branton, Jr. describes his service in the U.S. Army during World War Two in which he served in Italy as part of a segregated unit; he comments on his experiences with discrimination and maximum quotas for African Americans in othe Army's officer training and foreign language training programs. Branton goes on to talk about his time at Northwestern University School of Law and his early legal practice in California, including a trial in which his challenge and proof of Riverside County's de facto exclusion of blacks from juries resulted in the selection of the County's first black juror. |
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Video Oral History Interview with Leo Branton, Jr., Tape 4, July 27, 2001, TRT: 00:29:53:27.
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| Leo Branton recalls his participation in several famous trials during the 1950s, including many defending suspected members of the Communist Party such as the famous 'Yates v. United States' in the U.S. Supreme Court. Branton also discusses his work at the first integrated law firm in California, Margolis, McTernan, and Branton. Branton also comments on the effects of McCarthyism. |
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Video Oral History Interview with Leo Branton, Jr., Tape 5, July 27, 2001, TRT: 00:30:04:24.
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| Attorney Leo Branton, Jr. discusses his legal work in the entertainment industry and how he became established as an expert libel litigator. He talks about his representation of African American actors and musicians, focusing in particular on Dorothy Dandridge and Nat King Cole. |
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Video Oral History Interview with Leo Branton, Jr., Tape 6, July 27, 2001, TRT: 00:30:42:19.
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| Attorney Leo Branton talks about his legal work in entertainment and civil rights. He discusses his work for African American entertainers, especially Nat King Cole, whom he represented in the 1950s and 1960s. He also recalls legal and other relationships with the Platters and Harry Belafonte, as well as actor/producer Ike Jones and his Swedish actress wife, Inger Stevens. Mr. Branton then tells about some of his work for civil rights. He recounts an interesting story about working with his brother, civil rights attorney Wiley Branton, on an early 1960s trial in their hometown of Pine Bluff, Arkansas; "the Branton boys" were treated as returning heroes by the local black population who attended the trial in large numbers. By an odd quirk of fate, the judge had been the racist prosecutor at Leo Branton's own trial for assault at age eighteen for hitting a white store clerk after the man had first struck him. Branton looks back at that 1939 incident and the subsequent boycott of the store, and he mentions the noticeable changes in race relations in Pine Bluff since that time, even a change in the attitude of the former prosecutor. |
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Video Oral History Interview with Leo Branton, Jr., Tape 7, July 27, 2001, TRT: 00:30:38:30.
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| Attorney Leo Branton, Jr. recalls his civil rights legal work for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and his experiences with protesters who had been severely beaten by authorities in Danville, Virginia's "Bloody Monday" in 1963. He describes his involvement as lead defense attorney in Angela Davis's trial as well as other high profile cases. He also reflects on his family's and his own strong identification as African American despite having skin color and features that would have allowed them to pass for white; at the same time, he points to certain situations in the South in which his light coloring allowed him access to places off-limits to those with darker skin. Branton emphasizes his compassion not only for black people but also for oppressed people of any race and, as an example, expresses his support for the improvements he believes Cubans have enjoyed since the revolution. |
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Video Oral History Interview with Leo Branton, Jr., Tape 8, July 27, 2001, TRT: 00:24:45:15.
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| Attorney Leo Branton, Jr. gives his opinions on the state of the black community today, in areas such as media representation and business, and his hopes for the future. These comments are followed by a series of photographs--and one courtroom sketch--showing Branton, his family members and colleagues. |