At 92, honor delivered to 'Leitao'
Main city post office dedicated to judge
By CURT BROWN, Standard-Times staff writer
NEW BEDFORD -- Retired federal court Judge and New Bedford native George N. Leighton -- who never allowed his dreams to be derailed by poverty, segregation or war -- returned to the city of his birth yesterday for the dedication of the main post office in his honor.
His voice sounding like a young lion despite his age of 92, Mr. Leighton said if people work hard and have a goal they also can overcome obstacles and realize their dreams.
"It can be done," he announced during the ceremonies, held on the steps of the main post office downtown as about 300 people sat in chairs placed in the middle of a blocked-off Pleasant Street or watched from the sidewalk.
He said he hopes there are more days in the city's future where they honor their native sons and daughters for their successes.
He said he is proud of his Cape Verdean heritage and prefers the Cape Verdean pronunciation of "Leitao," over Leighton. He explained "Leighton" was given to him by an elementary school teacher who couldn't pronounce his name correctly.
Born to Anna Silva Garcia and Antonio Neves Leitao, immigrant parents from Cape Verde, Judge Leighton attended schools in New Bedford and on Cape Cod before leaving school to go to work to help support his family.
He continued his education on his own, reading books, attending night schools in New Bedford and studying in Works in Progress Administration classes. He left New Bedford and enrolled at Howard University in 1936 (as an "unclassified student" because he had never attended high school) and graduated magna cum laude four years later.
He won a scholarship and enrolled in Harvard School of Law in 1940, but again his education was interrupted -- this time by World War II, in which he served three years in the Army and earned the Bronze Star.
He earned his law degree from Harvard in 1946 and established a highly successful law practice in Chicago. He later became the first African-American to sit on the Board of Managers of the Chicago Bar Association.
He was elected a judge on the Circuit Court of Cook County, Ill., from 1964 to 1969, and appointed to the First District Appellate Court of Illinois in 1969.
President Gerald Ford appointed Judge Leighton to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in 1976, where he served until his retirement in 1987 at the age of 75. He then became counsel to the Chicago law firm of Earl L. Neal & Associates.
Yesterday, Judge Leighton, called a "a valiant crusader" for his work protecting civil rights, remembered his youth growing up in New Bedford and proclaimed that he hasn't forgotten his birthplace.
He spoke of his parents, who were poor financially, but rich in character and personal qualities. He said he would pick strawberries and work in cranberry bogs until late December each year as a youngster, preventing him from attending school.
He recalled walking barefoot from his home to the old Wing store on Purchase Street to get boxes so his parents could burn them to heat their home.
He said his parents were "sterling, excellent people" who taught him the principles of hard work that he has followed all his life. He thanked the organizers of yesterday's dedication for including a large photo of his parents as part of the ceremonies.
The American Bar Association presented its highest honor, the Medal of Honor, to him in June in recognition of his work to protect human rights as a lawyer in Chicago.
The ABA said, as a lawyer Judge Leighton fought for safe residency for an African-American attempting to move into a segregated Chicago suburb in 1951, and as a judge he upheld the free speech rights of African-Americans and Nazis.
Pedro Pires, president of the Republic of Cape Verde, called the honoree "a fighter" for having battled through so many obstacles.
"All we can do is to be proud of you," President Pires said through an interpreter.
The president also honored Judge Leighton's parents for having the courage to leave Cape Verde and start a new life.
The New Bedford City Council passed the resolution asking the post office be named for Judge Leighton. Mayor Frederick M. Kalisz Jr. signed it and Rep. Barney Frank introduced it into Congress.
Rep. Frank called Judge Leighton "America at its best," explaining the retired judge's determination helped him persevere against extreme circumstances.
Rep. Frank said Judge Leighton was born in 1912 -- 42 years before the U.S. outlawed segregation.
Three displays containing some of Judge Leighton's personal possessions -- a judicial robe, gavels, name plates, his Medal of Honor to name a few -- were on display yesterday in the lobby of the post office.
An interesting tidbit, which wasn't mentioned yesterday, was that Judge Leighton is an avid chess player and learned to play at the Boys' Club as a young boy.
Contact Curt Brown at cbrown@s-t.com
This story appeared on Page A1 of The Standard-Times on September 19, 2005.
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