Clarence Clyde Ferguson Jr. (4 November 1924 – 21 December 1983) was a professor of law and a

United States Ambassador to Uganda The United States ambassador to Uganda is the official representative of the government of the United States to the Government of Uganda. Ambassadors See also *Uganda – United States relations *Foreign relations of Uganda *Ambassadors of ...

.Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Thomson Gale. 2007 Having experienced the horrors of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, as a

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

he "labored tirelessly to safeguard and extend the fundamental freedoms" essential to

world peace World peace, or peace on Earth, is the concept of an ideal state of peace within and among all people and nations on Planet Earth. Different cultures, religions, philosophies, and organizations have varying concepts on how such a state would ...

. He was the main proponent in many decisions implementing the social provisions of the

U.N. Charter The Charter of the United Nations (UN) is the foundational treaty of the UN, an intergovernmental organization. It establishes the purposes, governing structure, and overall framework of the United Nations System, UN system, including its Organ ...

and the

Universal Declaration of Human Rights The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is an international document adopted by the United Nations General Assembly that enshrines the Human rights, rights and freedoms of all human beings. Drafted by a UN Drafting of the Universal De ...

, particularly in relation to

apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

, and more generally in relation to all forms of

racial A race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 1500s, when it was used to refer to groups of variou ...

religious Religion is usually defined as a social system, social-cultural system of designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morality, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sacred site, sanctified places, prophecy, prophecie ...

, and cultural

discrimination Discrimination is the act of making unjustified distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong. People may be discriminated on the basis of race, gender, age, relig ...

. Ferguson was the chief draftsman of the

United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

's statement on

race Race, RACE or "The Race" may refer to: * Race (biology), an informal taxonomic classification within a species, generally within a sub-species * Race (human categorization), classification of humans into groups based on physical traits, and/or s ...

in 1967 and is considered the "

founding father The following list of national founding figures is a record, by country, of people who were credited with establishing a state. National founders are typically those who played an influential role in setting up the systems of governance, (i.e. ...

" of affirmative action. In 1969, he served as the US ambassador-at-large and coordinator for civilian relief in the

Nigerian civil war The Nigerian Civil War (6 July 1967 – 15 January 1970), also known as the Nigerian–Biafran War or the Biafran War, was a civil war fought between Nigeria and the Republic of Biafra, a secessionist state which had declared its independence f ...

and negotiated the "Protocol on Relief to Nigeria Civilian Victims of the Civil War." He served as ambassador to

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...

in 1970 and as

deputy assistant secretary of state Assistant Secretary of State (A/S) is a title used for many executive positions in the United States Department of State, ranking below the under secretaries. A set of six assistant secretaries reporting to the under secretary for political affairs ...

for

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

n affairs in 1973. From 1973 to 1975 he was the US representative to the

United Nations Economic and Social Council The United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC; french: links=no, Conseil économique et social des Nations unies, ) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations, responsible for coordinating the economic and social fields ...

. He had an important role in the defence of human rights in Chile, influencing U.S's actions against Pinochet's crimes. Ferguson held a professorship at

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's ...

and served as

dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

of the

Howard University School of Law Howard University School of Law (Howard Law or HUSL) is the law school of Howard University, a private, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is one of the oldest law schools in the country and the oldes ...

from 1963 to 1969. He joined the faculty of

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

in 1976 and worked there until his death. The ''C. Clyde Ferguson Annual Lecture'' at

is named after him, as is the ''Clyde Ferguson award'' presented by the

Association of American Law Schools The Association of American Law Schools (AALS), formed in 1900, is a non-profit organization of 176 law schools in the United States. An additional 19 schools pay a fee to receive services but are not members. AALS incorporated as a 501(c)(3) non ...

. He wrote books including ''Materials on Trial Presentations'' and ''Racism in American Education'', and contributed to ''US Ratification of the Human Rights Treaties''.

Personal life

He was the son of Clarence Clyde (a minister) and Georgena (Owens) Ferguson. Although he was the son and grandson of African Methodist Episcopal ministers, he was not formally affiliated with any denomination. He married Dolores Zimmerman, now deceased, on 14 February 1954. She was an artist. Together they had three children: Claire, Hope, and Eve.

Education

He received a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree (

cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...

) from

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

in 1948, and a

Bachelor of Law Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

degree (cum laude) from Harvard University in 1951. He was awarded a

Doctor of Law A Doctor of Law is a degree in law. The application of the term varies from country to country and includes degrees such as the Doctor of Juridical Science (J.S.D. or S.J.D), Juris Doctor (J.D.), Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), and Legum Doctor (LL ...

degree by Rutgers University in 1966, and again by

Williams College Williams College is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams, a col ...

in 1976.

Other career events

He served in the

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

from 1943 to 1946. taking part in the

Battle of Normandy Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the Norma ...

and the fighting in Europe that followed. He received a

Bronze Star The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

. He worked on the legal defence team of the

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. ...

. He served as president of the

American Society of International Law The American Society of International Law (ASIL), founded in 1906, was chartered by the United States Congress in 1950 to foster the study of international law, and to promote the establishment and maintenance of international relations on the ba ...

from 1978 to 1980.

Bibliography

* (With Albert P. Blaustein) ''Desegregation and the Law: The Meaning and Effect of the School Segregation Cases'', Rutgers University Press, 1957, 2nd edition, 1960. * ''Materials on Trial Presentations'', Rutgers University, 1957. * ''Enforcement and Collection of Judgments and Liens'', Institute for Continuing Legal Education, Rutgers University, 1961. * ''Secured Transactions: Article IX Uniform Commercial Code in New Jersey'', Sooney & Sage, 1961. * (With others) ''Racism in American Education'', Random House, 1970. * (Contributor) Lillich, editor, ''US Ratification of the Human Rights Treaties'', University of Virginia Press, 1981.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ferguson, Clarence Clyde Jr. Ambassadors of the United States to Uganda Harvard Law School faculty American legal writers United States Army personnel of World War II Ohio State University alumni Harvard Law School alumni 1983 deaths 1924 births 20th-century American non-fiction writers African-American diplomats 20th-century African-American writers Presidents of the American Society of International Law