John Doar, one of the heroes of the American Civil Rights movement, passed away on Nov. 11 from congestive heart failure. He was 92 years old.
Doar was honored in 2012 with a Presidential Medal of Freedom for his role in helping to protect the rights of African-American voters in the South during the 1960s. His courageous work to fight segregation and as a Justice Department civil rights lawyer will always be remembered. He was a critical figure for civil rights in the country.
Doar grew up in an all-white neighborhood in Wisconsin, but that didn't stop him from advocating civil rights.
He served as assistant attorney general of the Civil Rights Division for seven years starting in 1960, and singlehandedly stopped a riot at the funeral of Medgar Evars in 1963. The incident was written up in the papers then ("The Day John Doar Saved Mississippi") and writer Bill Minor described Doar as his hero.
During the awards ceremony for the Medal of Freedom, President Obama said the same of Doar.
"In the words of John Lewis, 'He gave [civil rights workers] a reason not to give up on those in power.' And he did it by never giving up on them. And I think it's fair to say that I might not be here had it not been for his work," the president said.
During the most dangerous and turbulent times of the Civil Rights Movement, Doar was on the forefront, risking his own life many times but never tiring to fight for the cause.
In 1962, he escorted James Meredith onto the University of Mississippi campus and helped him settle into his dormitory amid a riot that wanted to keep the school segregated.
Doar was also instrumental in laying the groundwork for the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965.
When he left public service in 1967, he did not return until seven years later when he worked on the impeachment inquiry against President Nixon as a special counsel to the House Judiciary Committee.
Doar towered over most people at 6-foot-4. Although he will continue to be nothing less than a hero to many, of his own courage and achievements, Doar was always humble.
"I'm a lawyer. I like to take on difficult cases. I like to prepare cases. To me, success is seeing that justice is done, that the Constitution is preserved and fairness occurs," he said in a rare statement in 1973 about his career during the civil rights era.
