Basil Paterson

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Basil Alexander Paterson (born April 27, 1926 in New York City , † April 16, 2014 there ) was an American lawyer and politician ( Democratic Party ). He was Secretary of State of New York from 1979 to 1983 . Former New York Governor David Paterson is his son.

Early years

Basil Alexander Paterson, son of Evangeline Alicia Rondon and Leonard James, was born in 1926 in Harlem , a suburb of Manhattan . His father was born on the island of Carriacou , which belongs to the island chain of the Grenadines . He arrived aboard the SS Vestris in New York City on May 16, 1917 . His mother was in Kingston ( Jamaica born). She came on Sept. 9, 1919 on board the SS Vestnorge in Philadelphia ( Pennsylvania ) with final destination New York City. Miss Rondon was a stenographer by trade. She worked as a secretary for Marcus Garvey . The Childhood of Basil Paterson Alexander was of the Great Depression overshadowed.

Teenage years and education

At the age of 16, in 1942, he graduated from DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx . His early experiences with racism shaped him. He later told the New York Times columnist Bob Herbert :

"I got out of high school when I was 16 and the first real job I had was with a wholesale house in the old Port Authority building, down on 18th Street. We'd pack and load these trucks that went up and down in huge elevators. Every year there would be a Christmas party for the employees at some local hotel. Those of us who worked in the shipping department were black. We got paid not to go to the party. "

Paterson attended college at St. John's University . However, he interrupted his studies for two years to serve in the US Army during World War II . After the end of his service, he continued his studies at St. John's University. In the following years he was very active in social and non-profit organizations, including the Kappa Alpha Psi , where he joined the Omicron branch in New York (now at Columbia University ) in 1947 . Paterson graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in biology in 1948 . He was later accepted into St. John's Law School . In 1951 he graduated there with a Juris Doctor .

Political career

Paterson was active as a Democrat in Harlem in the 1950s and 1960s. He was a member of the Gang of Four , also known as the Harlem Clubhouse . Other members included former New York City Mayor David Dinkins , future Borough President of Manhattan Percy Sutton, and Congressman Charles B. Rangel . Paterson was the head of the Harlem Clubhouse, which has dominated Harlem politics since the 1960s.

From 1966 to 1970 Paterson was a member of the New York Senate , where he represented the Upper West Side of New York City and Harlem ( New York State's 176th to 178th  Legislature ). He resigned his Senate seat in 1970 to run for the post of Lieutenant Governor of New York. He stepped up as the running mate of the former Supreme Court Justice Arthur Goldberg . Both lost to the Republican incumbents, Governor Nelson Rockefeller and Lieutenant Governor Malcolm Wilson .

Paterson was named deputy mayor in 1978 by then New York City Mayor Ed Koch . In 1979 he resigned from this post to take up the position of Secretary of State of New York. He was the first African American to hold the post until the end of Hugh Carey's administration in 1982. Though he served briefly in Koch's administration, he contemplated running against him in the next mayoral election, but made up his mind in the end on the other hand.

Paterson was with Meyer, Suozzi, English & Klein, PC where he was co-chair of the labor law division.

He died in 2014 at Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b c Basil A. Paterson Biography, United States: The HistoryMakers, January 18, 2007
  2. ↑ Phelps, Shirelle: Who's Who Among African Americans, 11th Edition, Detroit ( Michigan ), London : Gale Research, 1998, ISBN 0-7876-2469-1 , p. 1005
  3. ↑ Best, Tony: Paterson claims Caribbean roots, The Daily Nation ( Barbados ), March 16, 2008
  4. ↑ New NY Govenor is son of Caribbean nationals ( Memento of 15 March 2008 at the Internet Archive ), Barbados: Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation 15 March 2008
  5. ↑ World War I Draft Registration Card, United States: The Generations Network, June 5, 1917
  6. ^ New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957, United States: The Generations Network, May 16, 1917
  7. ↑ Philadelphia Passenger Lists, 1800-1945, United States: The Generations Network, September 9, 1919
  8. ^ A b Herbert, Bob: The Winds of Albany , The New York Times, March 15, 2008
  9. ^ A b Basil A. Paterson , United States: Meyer, Suozzi, English & Klein, PC, April 12, 2008
  10. ↑ Schapiro, Rich: Harlem 'trailblazer', former World War II Tuskegee Airmen Percy Sutton dies , Daily News, December 27, 2009
  11. ^ Carlyle C. Douglas and Alan Finder: The Region , The New York Times, September 30, 1984
  12. ^ Gormley, Michael: Basil Paterson, trailblazing New York politician, former Gov. David Paterson's father, dead at 87 , Newsday, April 17, 2014
  13. ^ Roberts, Sam: Paterson & Son, Offices in Harlem and Albany , The New York Times, December 27, 2006
personal data
SURNAME Paterson, Basil
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Paterson, Basil Alexander (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American lawyer and politician (Democratic Party)
DATE OF BIRTH April 27, 1926
PLACE OF BIRTH New York City
DATE OF DEATH April 16, 2014
Place of death New York City