William H. Booth, '40
8/12/1922 - 12/12/2006
An admired man who spent decades combating racial discrimination and strengthening civil rights in Queens and beyond ... Jamaica native William Henry Booth, a former judge and Chairman of the New York City Human Rights Commission, died Dec. 12 2006 in his Kissimmee, Florida home at age 84 from complications of a stroke suffered in 2005.
“(His) spirit was both sweet and strong, humble and honorable,” said his daughter, Gini Booth. “His soul and spirit embraced the best of mankind.”
Booth was born in the neighborhood of Jamaica... he attended local public schools before graduating from Jamaica High School. In 1946, he graduated from Queens College and continued his law education at New York University. In 1950, he was admitted to the New York Bar.
Booth worked for 16 years in the New York courts before getting involved in public service. In 1956, he was admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Aside from his civil rights work in New York City, Booth’s freedom fighting ambitions were known in the southern states as he joined the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and other civil rights leaders in fighting for equality.
His efforts in his neighborhood, however, are etched in the memories of those who protested at the Rochdale Village cooperative apartment complex construction site in 1963. The outcry was due to the lack of black workers hired at the site. Booth was arrested for disorderly conduct during the protest.
Archie Spigner, a longtime veteran of Southeast Queens politics and civil rights struggles, remembers Booth’s drive and determination while joining the civil rights leader in holding signs and sitting in front of bulldozers. “He was the right leader at the right time,” said Spigner,... Spigner added that Booth displayed “energetic, dedicated and resourceful” leadership while working for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Booth was president of the Jamaica Branch Youth Chapter at age 12 and served as president of the full branch from 1961 to 1963. He was a member of the national NAACP board of directors from 1965 to 1974.
He served as Chairman of the city’s Human Rights Commission from 1966 to 1969. Patricia Gatling, the current Commissioner and Chairwoman, recently completed a three year investigation of the small number of blacks in management positions at major advertising agencies. The investigation was started by Booth in 1964, but was delayed due to lack of the ... subpoena power at the time. “When you follow behind people like him, he’ll leave a good trail for you. It makes (the work) a lot easier,” Gatling said. “You know the saying, ‘We stand on the shoulder of giants.’ I’m standing on his.”
Booth became a Criminal Court Judge in 1969. He then served as an acting Supreme Court Justice for Kings County from 1976 to 1982. He later joined a Brooklyn law firm before returning to private practice in 1989.
In 1994, Booth received an invitation from the government of South Africa to attend the inauguration of Nelson Mandela, South Africa’s president, who was imprisoned for almost 30 years during the apartheid era.
...Booth’s other titles have included President of the Criminal Courts Bar Association of Queens; President of 100 Black Men; Chairman of the Sickle Cell Disease Foundation; member of the Board of Directors at Queens Hospital; and Chairman of the New York City Board of Correction.
Booth’s presence in Queens continued after being semi-retired in the early 1990s, according to his daughter. Before moving to Florida around 1995, he provided free legal consultations to the public. “People would travel all over the metropolitan area to meet with him. He believed in giving back,” Gini Booth said.
From The Queens Chronicle, "Memorial Planned For Civil Rights Leader" by Jami Maday, Assistant Editor, 01/04/2007.
Picture from The New York Times. 12/27/2006. Vic Deluca, 1982.
JAMAICA HIGH SCHOOL NOTEWORTHY ALUMNI: : : : : : : : 01/06/07
