Harris Wofford

| jr/sr1 = United States Senator

Yale University (LLB) Harris Llewellyn Wofford Jr. (April 9, 1926 – January 21, 2019) was an American attorney, civil rights activist, and Democratic Party politician who represented Pennsylvania in the United States Senate from 1991 to 1995. A noted advocate of national service and volunteering, Wofford was also the fifth president of Bryn Mawr College from 1970 to 1978, served as chairman of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party in 1986, served as Pennsylvania Secretary of Labor and Industry in the cabinet of Governor Bob Casey Sr. from 1987 to 1991, and was a surrogate for Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign. He introduced Obama in Philadelphia at the National Constitution Center before Obama's speech on race in America, "A More Perfect Union."

Early life

Wofford was born in 1926 in Manhattan, New York City, the son of Estelle Allison (née Gardner) and Harris Llewellyn Wofford. He was born to a wealthy and prominent Southern family.

At age 11 he accompanied his widowed grandmother on a six-month world tour. They spent Christmas Eve in Bethlehem, visited Shanghai shortly after the Imperial Japanese Army captured it, spent time in India where Wofford became "fascinated" by Mahatma Gandhi and visited Rome, where they saw Benito Mussolini announce Italy's withdrawal from the League of Nations and a subsequent fascist parade. he was inspired by Clarence Streit's plea for a world government to found the Student Federalists. By the time he was 18, the organization had grown so large that Newsweek predicted he would become president.

He served in the United States Army Air Forces during the Second World War After one year, he concluded his studies at Yale Law School, where he received his law degree in June 1954. He began his public service career as a legal assistant for Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh on the United States Commission on Civil Rights, serving from 1957 to 1959. In 1959, he became a law professor at University of Notre Dame. He was an early supporter of the Civil Rights Movement in the South in the 1950s, accompanying Indian activist Ram Manohar Lohia on a tour of the South in 1951 and becoming a friend and unofficial advisor to Martin Luther King Jr.

Kennedy administration

Wofford first met John F. Kennedy in 1947 at a party at Clare Boothe Luce's Connecticut home. Wofford's political career began in 1960 when Kennedy asked him to join his presidential campaign and work with Sargent Shriver on winning over the "Negro vote".

When King was imprisoned shortly before the election, Wofford and Shriver persuaded Kennedy to call King's wife, Coretta Scott King, who faced the specter of her husband sentenced to hard labor in a Georgia prison for a minor traffic violation while she was in an advanced stage of pregnancy. This prompted Martin Luther King Sr. to switch his endorsement from Richard Nixon to Kennedy Following the phone call, Wofford and other Kennedy aides assembled a pamphlet that referenced the call, printed on blue paper and known as the "blue bomb"; some 2 million copies were circulated, mostly through African American churches—"below the registry of the news and white culture. It had enormous influence among black voters."

In 1961, Kennedy appointed him as a Special Assistant to the President for Civil Rights. In the White House, he served as chairman of the Subcabinet Group on Civil Rights. Wofford was instrumental in the formation of the Peace Corps and served as the Peace Corps' special representative to Africa and director of operations in Ethiopia.

Academic career and private practice

In 1966, Wofford left politics to become president of the State University of New York at Old Westbury. At the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago, Wofford risked his career by allowing himself to be arrested in protest of police brutality. In 1970, he became president of Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania, holding that post until 1978.

In 1978, Wofford joined the law firm of Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis LLP.

Political career

In Pennsylvania

After spending seven years in private law practice in Philadelphia, Wofford served as the Chairman of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party from June to December 1986. In March 1987, he was appointed by Pennsylvania Governor Bob Casey Sr. as the state's Secretary of Labor and Industry.

1991 U.S. Senate special election victory

Main article: 1991 United States Senate special election in Pennsylvania

On April 4, 1991, Pennsylvania's senior U.S. Senator, H. John Heinz III, died when his small plane collided with a helicopter, leaving his seat in the U.S. Senate open. By law, the Pennsylvania governor was required to appoint a replacement until a special election could be held for the seat. After considering several potential candidates, including Chrysler president and Allentown native Lee Iacocca, who turned down the job, Governor Casey appointed Wofford to the seat on May 8, 1991.

In the special election, held in November 1991, Wofford faced Dick Thornburgh, the former Pennsylvania Governor and U.S. Attorney General under Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush. Candidates for this special election were chosen by the party committees because the vacancy had happened too late to set up a primary. Wofford began the campaign so far behind in the polls that most pundits assumed he had no chance of winning. Indeed, at one point his own internal polls showed him losing by over 40 points. His eventual upset victory over the former governor by ten percentage points surprised many, and was later described as a turning point for the political prospects of President George H. W. Bush.

Wofford's campaign was run by Paul Begala and James Carville, and their dramatic success brought them to national attention. Themes such as the economy and health care would also be crucial to Bill Clinton's 1992 presidential election victory.

Although Clinton ultimately chose Al Gore, Wofford was a finalist for the vice presidential nomination.

1994 U.S. Senate defeat

Main article: 1994 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania

After the failure of president Bill Clinton's Healthcare proposal, to which Wofford was tied to having been one of the executive's strongest allies on the issue, following this Wofford focused his attacks on his opponent Republican Rep. Rick Santorum, thirty-two years his junior. Santorum in turn ran a grassroots campaign and appeal to socially conservative unions. Wofford would end up narrowly losing his seat to Santorum by 87,210 votes. The election was part of that year's Republican Revolution, in which many Democrats were ousted from both houses of the United States Congress. Wofford and Tennessee's Jim Sasser were the only incumbent Senators to lose re-election in the 1994 cycle. https://www.nytimes.com/1994/11/15/us/the-1994-election-tennessee-a-disillusioned-state-gives-up-on-democrats.html

Subsequent career

From 1995 to 2001, Wofford served as chief executive officer of the Corporation for National and Community Service, the federal agency that runs AmeriCorps and other domestic volunteer programs.

In 2005, he met Barack Obama. The two became friends and when Obama made his speech on race in America, "A More Perfect Union", Wofford introduced him.

On January 4, 2007, Wofford was present for the swearing-in of Senator Bob Casey Jr., who defeated Santorum in his bid for a third term, and on January 3, 2013, Wofford again accompanied Casey to his swearing-in for a second term on the floor of the Senate.

From 2001, Wofford served on the boards of several charities and service organizations, including America's Promise, Youth Service America and the Points of Light Foundation. He was a trustee to the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Non-Violent Social Change. Between 2007 and 2009, Wofford was the national spokesperson for Experience Wave, a national campaign that sought to advance state and federal policies to make it easier for mid-life and older adults to stay engaged in work and community life.

Wofford was a board member of Malaria No More, a New York-based nonprofit that was launched at the 2006 White House Summit with the goal of ending all deaths caused by malaria. He served on the Board of Selectors of Jefferson Awards for Public Service. He served as a senior fellow at the Case Foundation in Washington, D.C.

From 2012 to 2015, Wofford served as a senior advisor to the Franklin Project, a policy program of the Aspen Institute that sought to make a year of service a common opportunity and expectation for young Americans.

In 2014, The New Republic featured Wofford in its 100th Anniversary issue, in a profile titled, "The Man Who Was Everywhere".

Personal life

Wofford was raised an Episcopalian, and converted to Catholicism in the 1980s.

In 1948, Wofford married Clare Lindgren. The Woffords later had three children. In January 1996, Clare Wofford died of acute leukemia at age 69.

In April 2016 at the age of 90, Wofford announced that he would marry interior designer Matthew Charlton, a man 50 years his junior and his companion since 2001. That month, he published an opinion piece in The New York Times entitled "Finding Love Again, This Time With a Man." Wofford and Charlton married that year.

On January 21, 2019, Wofford died at age 92 in Washington, D.C., of complications from a fall. Approximately 1,000 people attended his memorial service held on March 3, 2019 in Cramton Auditorium at Howard University. The Howard University Choir performed and speakers included his husband, his brother, his children, Wayne A.I. Frederick, Tom Wolf, Timothy Shriver, Bob Casey Jr., Bill Clinton (via video), Paul Begala, Ghebre Selassie Mehreteab, and Peter Yarrow (via video), among others.

Awards

• In 2002, Wofford was the recipient of the John W. Gardner Leadership Award.
• In 2011, in conjunction with the 50th anniversary of the Peace Corps, the National Peace Corps Association created the Harris Wofford Global Citizen Award. It is given annually to an outstanding global leader who grew up and lives in a country where Peace Corps Volunteers served and whose life was influenced by the Peace Corps. The leader should be a person whose life's work has made a significant contribution to the world in a way that reflects the core Peace Corps values of service, peace, development, human rights, health, and understanding.
• In 2012, Wofford received the Presidential Citizens Medal.
• In 2015, Wofford was an honored speaker at the Memorial Tribute to Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh, C.S.C., 1917–2015, President Emeritus of the University of Notre Dame, Congregation of Holy Cross and former chairperson of the United States Commission on Civil Rights.

References

References

1. (November 7, 1991). "THE 1991 ELECTION: The Winner Man in the News: Harris Llewellyn Wofford Jr.; Backstage No Longer". The New York Times.
2. "Ex-Sen. Harris Wofford, civil rights activist, dies at age 92".
3. (July 7, 1922). "MISS GARDNER BRIDE OF HARRIS L. WOFFORD – Bishop Gailor Officates at Wedding of Daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Isaac B. Gardner". nytimes.com.
4. Jason Zengerle. (November 20, 2014). "The Man Who Was Everywhere".
5. (November 20, 1944). "The Eyes of a Schoolboy".
6. Lillenthal, David E. Jr.. (March 11, 1949). "Brass Tacks". [[The Harvard Crimson]].
7. "The Experiences of Civil Rights Lawyers in the 1950s and 1960s". Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.
8. (July 2016). "JFK and the Blue Bomb".
9. Woo, Elaine. (January 22, 2019). "Harris Wofford, civil rights activist who helped Kennedy win the White House, dies at 92". The Washington Post.
10. (June 26, 1980). "Of Kennedys and Kings: Making Sense of the Sixties—Kirkus Review". Kirkus Reviews.
11. "John F. Kennedy Library and Museum Biographical Profiles: Harris Wofford".
12. Stoffer, Harry. (June 30, 1986). "PA Democrats Elect Wofford Chairman". The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
13. Neri, Al. (December 4, 1986). "Casey expected to back Yatch to direct Democrats in state". The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
14. (March 24, 1987). "Wofford Is Sworn In As P.A. Labor Secretary". The Philadelphia Inquirer.
15. Ifil, Gwen. (July 10, 1992). "Clinton Selects Senator Gore of Tennessee as Running Mate". [[The New York Times]].
16. (2006). "Pennsylvania Elections: Statewide Contests from 1950-2004". University Press of America.
17. McFadden, Robert D.. (January 22, 2019). "Harris Wofford, 92, ex-senator who pushed volunteerism, is dead". [[The New York Times]].
18. Tom Curry. (January 4, 2007). "Chance to enjoy foes' defeat on opening day". [[NBC News]].
19. (January 3, 2013). "U.S. Senate swearing-in (113th U.S. Congress)".
20. "SENATOR HARRIS L. WOFFORD".
21. Jan Warner and Jan Collins. (March 18, 2007). "'Wave' of older workers flooding U.S. job market". Inside Bay Area.
22. "Board | youth community | service award | Jefferson Awards.org".
23. (June 14, 2006). "Meeting for Managers of NGO and Corporate Volunteer Programs: Participants List".
24. (March 27, 2014). "Harris Wofford to deliver spring installment of Hesburgh Libraries Lecture Series".
25. Zengerle, Jason. (November 21, 2014). "The Man Who Was Everywhere".
26. "Wofford Champions Navy Yard". philly-archives.
27. (1996-01-05). "Clare Wofford, 69, College Official". The New York Times.
28. "Clare Wofford, 69, Not Just A Politician's Wife". philly-archives.
29. (April 24, 2016). "Finding Love Again, This Time With a Man". The New York Times.
30. (April 2, 2016). "Former Philadelphia senator: Wofford is set to wed his male partner Charlton". Spilled News.
31. Wofford, Harris. (April 23, 2016). "Opinion | Finding Love Again, This Time With a Man". The New York Times.
32. (January 23, 2019). "Former Sen. Harris Wofford dies at 92".
33. (January 22, 2019). "Harris Wofford, civil rights activist and former senator, dies at 92".
34. (2 March 2019). "Harris Wofford is remembered at Howard University, where his civil rights career began". The Philadelphia Inquirer.
35. "John W. Gardner Leadership Award".
36. "Awards – National Peace Corps Association".
37. Kasie Coccaro. (February 15, 2013). "President Obama to Honor Recipients of the 2012 Citizens Medal". [[whitehouse.gov]].
38. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLb7-qtbdxM, minute 1:00:00.