Book Signing and Discussion at SUNY Rockland Community College on Recently Published Biography of Chief Counsel in Landmark Desegregation Case

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

DATE: November 7, 2007

CONTACT: Lisa Saunders

(845) 574-4244

Book Signing and Discussion at SUNY Rockland Community College on
Recently Published Biography of Chief Counsel in Landmark Desegregation Case

Suffern, NY - The author of a biography of the lead counsel in the historic Supreme Court case, Cooper v. Aaron, will discuss and sign copies of her book at SUNY Rockland Community College.

There When We Needed Him: Wiley A. Branton, Civil Rights Warrior, by Judith Kilpatrick, is about the late father of Wylene Branton Wood, President of the African American Historical Society of Rockland and wife of RCC President, Dr. Cliff L. Wood. The Woods will host the "Book Chat and Book Signing" on Tuesday, November 13, 5 – 7 p.m., in the Ellipse of the Technology Center on the main campus in Suffern. Refreshments will be served. Admission is free and open to the public.

Wiley A. Branton was lead counsel in Cooper v. Aaron, better known as "The Little Rock Nine" case, which filed suit against attempts to delay the integration of Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. He also helped create momentum for the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 when he became Director of the Southern Regional Council’s Voter Education Project. Orchestrating the voter registration of more than 600,000 African Americans in eleven Southern states in a period of three years, he helped change the complexion of politics in the South.

Kilpatrick worked on Branton's biography for several years with access to all of the Branton papers and photographs. In this recently published book, Kilpatrick analyzes the life and times of an African American from the South whose legal strategy, oratory, likeability and sense of humor made him legendary.

For more information, contact the President’s Office at 845-574-4214. You may see his photograph and learn more about his life by visiting: http://www.sunyrockland.edu/about/office-of-the-president/archive/there-when-we-needed-him/

###

Rockland Community College, a unit of the State University of New York, is located 25 miles northwest of NYC. The majority of its students transfer to four-year colleges, and many find immediate employment upon earning their associate's degree or certificate. The College also offers others, from preschoolers to senior citizens, the opportunity to simply learn something new. Quality education...at a price you can afford.