March 24, 2014

John Tomas “Jack” Lavey died. Lavey was one of a handful of Arkansas lawyers who made equality claims for African Americans in courts and defended civil rights activists who were jailed during the turbulent civil rights movement of the 1960s and 1970s. His cases in federal courts established the right of African Americans and women to equal pay and promotions in public and private workplaces. Lavey represented labor unions in Arkansas throughout his career in the state, and he was considered by the Bill Clinton administration for appointment to the National Labor Relations Board.