James L. Tolbert

James L. "Jimmy" Tolbert (born October 26, 1926 - April 22, 2013 in Santa Monica ) was an American attorney and NAACP official.

Tolbert comes from a well-known family of musicians from New Orleans ; the jazz musicians Lester Young and Lee Young were his uncles. At the age of ten, he received lessons from his grandfather Willis Young in Los Angeles . He grew up in the Central Avenue music district and attended Jordan and Jefferson High Schools in Los Angeles. He then did his military service (1945-1947) in the US Army. Upon his return to Los Angeles, he studied at East Los Angeles College and Cal State Los Angeles, where he graduated in journalism . He also played on a football team and worked as a concert promoter. He then studied law at Loyola Law School and Van Norman Law School.

Tolbert then worked for a short time as the publisher and co-owner of the African American newspaper The California Eagle . Other professional positions were the Southern California Regional Transit District Board and the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission . In 1960 he founded the law firm Tolbert & Wooden (later Tolbert, Wooden & Malone ), which was one of the first Afro-American law firms in the entertainment sector and existed for almost forty years; their clients included artists such as Della Reese , Harry Sweets Edison , Redd Foxx and Lou Rawls . From 1962 and 1964 he co-founded and chaired the civil rights organization National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in Beverly Hills-Hollywood. The NAACP campaign succeeded in persuading Hollywood studios to increasingly get African Americans involved in films and television shows. In 2000 Tolbert was honored with the NAACP's Special Tribute Award for this work . 1988-1990 he was chairman of the San Fernando Valley Arts Council . He died in April 2013 of complications from Alzheimer's disease .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c} Obituary in Hollywood Reporter