Percy L. Julian Jr., son of a renowned scientist, carved out his own legacy as a civil rights attorney in a career that began when he represented student protesters at the University of Wisconsin at Madison.

Mr. Julian, 67, died Sunday, Feb. 24, in Meriter Hospital in Madison, his hometown, a day after suffering a cerebral hemorrhage, said his sister, Faith Julian. He had lived in Madison since completing law school at the Un

Mr. Julian's roots were in Oak Park, where his family moved in 1950. His father, who died in 1975, was an internationally known scientist whose accomplishments included coming up with multiple uses for the soybean. A middle school in Oak Park is named in his honor.

The Julians were African-American pioneers in Oak Park and not welcomed by all. Their house was set on fire before they moved in, and a year later a bomb was thrown at the home from a passing car.

Mr. Julian and his sister were regularly harassed at Oak Park and River Forest High School, she said.

"He had a lot of sad experiences," she said.

Thin and plucky, he was a manager for the football team, she said.

Sarah Crandall, later a law partner of Mr. Julian's, said he talked often of his experiences in Oak Park and also remembered those who helped the family.

"They were formative experiences of coming home and finding a cross on his lawn, and also getting help from neighbors," Crandall said. "He was not an embittered black man. He preferred to find links to other people."

Mr. Julian received a degree in political science from Oberlin College in Ohio before going to Wisconsin for law school.

Through his Madison firm, which is now Julian & Associates, Mr. Julian handled a wide range of work, including employment and housing discrimination. He took on school desegregation cases and voters rights cases, on his own through the NAACP Legal Defense Funds, Crandall said.

"He was very much of a perfectionist in his work, but he was a very patient man personally," Crandall said.

Shortly after receiving his degree in 1966, he took up the cause of a group of Wisconsin students who felt the university was infringing on their rights by limiting protests. Mr. Julian argued the university's actions amounted to prior restraint. Among the students was Madison's future mayor, Paul Soglin.

"Percy started out with the premise that if the government was doing something, it was probably infringing on three or four of your constitutional rights," Soglin said. "And he was usually right."

Mr. Julian had little self-interest in taking the case.

"You don't build a client base with 10 students who could barely raise $200 for filing fees and printing costs," Soglin said.

After two years, the students got a final ruling in their favor.

While committed to civil rights, Mr. Julian was not overtly political.

"He was very moderate in his behavior and his speech, never inflammatory," Soglin said. "To find his opinion, you had to sit and talk with him."

Mr. Julian was an accomplished cook who taught classes in Jamaican cuisine, a photographer who documented his travels worldwide, and a practitioner of the martial art of Aikido.

"It was important for Percy that he not just practice law," Crandall said.

Mr. Julian was divorced from his first wife, Karen, who survives him.

He also is survived by his wife, Jan Blackmon; and a daughter, Katherine Julian.

A service is set for 3 p.m. March 7 at the Monona Terrace convention center in Madison.

iversity of Wisconsin in the 1960s.

Record	Events	Title	Source Website	Type	Created
percyjulian.jpg			Forces War Records	Image	15/11/2013
percyjulian.jpg			Forces War Records	Image	15/11/2013
Percy L Julian	Birth, Custom, Death, People	US, Social Security Death Index	Forces War Records	Index Record	4/09/2008

Percy L Julian

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