John Michael Doar (December 3, 1921 – November 11, 2014) was an American lawyer and senior counsel with the

law firm A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise consumer, clients (individuals or corporations) about their legal rights and Obligation, respon ...

Doar Rieck Kaley & Mack in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. During the administrations of presidents

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...

and

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, under whom he had served a ...

, he served first as Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights from 1961 to 1965, and then as head of the division from 1965 until 1967. He led the government's response to events such as the admission and protection of

James Meredith James Howard Meredith (born June 25, 1933) is an American civil rights activist, writer, political adviser, and United States Air Force veteran who became, in 1962, the first African-American student admitted to the racially segregated Univers ...

, the first black student admitted to the

University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi (Epithet, byname Ole Miss) is a Public university, public research university in University, near Oxford, Mississippi, United States, with a University of Mississippi Medical Center, medical center in Jackson, Miss ...

, as well as the evolving response to the civil rights movement promoting integration and voter registration in the South. Additionally, in 1973–74, he served as the lead special counsel for the U.S. House Judiciary Committee's impeachment inquiry staff during the

impeachment process against Richard Nixon The Federal impeachment in the United States, impeachment process against Richard Nixon was initiated by the United States House of Representatives on October 30, 1973, during the course of the Watergate scandal, when multiple resolutions ca ...

Early life and education

Doar was born in New Richmond, Wisconsin, the son of Mae and William Doar. In 1940, Doar graduated from St. Paul Academy and Summit School in

Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (often abbreviated St. Paul) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County, Minnesota, Ramsey County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, ...

. He served in the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and was a pilot. He graduated with an A.B. from the School of Public and International Affairs (now Princeton School of Public and International Affairs) at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

in 1944 after completing a senior thesis titled "An Analysis of Farmer Cooperatives, 1918–1946." He then received an LL.B. from the

University of California-Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after the Anglo-Irish philosopher George Berkeley ...

Boalt Hall School of Law. From 1950 to 1960, Doar then worked in his family's law firm in New Richmond, Wisconsin.

Civil rights career

A Republican, Doar served as Deputy Assistant and then

Assistant Attorney General Many of the divisions and offices of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) are headed by an assistant attorney general. The president of the United States appoints individuals to the position of assistant attorney general with the adv ...

for

Civil Rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' political freedom, freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and ...

in the U.S. Dept. of Justice, from 1960 to 1967, during which time he was involved in several of the most significant events of the American civil rights movement. In 1961 he operated in

Montgomery, Alabama Montgomery is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Alabama. Named for Continental Army major general Richard Montgomery, it stands beside the Alabama River on the Gulf Coastal Plain. The population was 2 ...

, along with his assistant, John Seigenthaler, to protect the

Freedom Riders Freedom Riders were civil rights activists who rode interstate buses into the Racial segregation in the United States, segregated Southern United States, Southern United States in 1961 and subsequent years to challenge the non-enforcement of t ...

. In 1962, he confronted Ross Barnett over Barnett's attempts to prevent

from entering the segregated

. He also prosecuted Collie Wilkins for federal civil rights violations in the

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse committed with the necessary Intention (criminal law), intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisd ...

of Viola Liuzzo, gaining conviction by an

all-white jury Racial discrimination in jury selection is specifically prohibited by law in many jurisdictions throughout the world. In the United States, it has been defined through a series of judicial decisions. However, juries composed solely of one racial ...

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

. In 1963, he calmed an

angry mob Mobbing, as a sociological term, refers either to bullying in any context, or specifically to that within the workplace, especially when perpetrated by a group rather than an individual. Psychological and health effects Victims of workplace mo ...

after the

assassination Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives. Assassinations are orde ...

of civil rights leader

Medgar Evers Medgar Wiley Evers (; July 2, 1925June 12, 1963) was an American civil rights activist and soldier who was the NAACP's first field secretary in Mississippi. Evers, a United States Army veteran who served in World War II, was engaged in efforts ...

, murdered outside his home. Doar prosecuted the federal case for civil rights violations against the people who were accused of murdering Andrew Goodman, James Chaney and

Michael Schwerner Michael Henry Schwerner (November 6, 1939 – June 21, 1964) was an American civil rights activist. He was one of three Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) field workers murdered in rural Neshoba County, Mississippi, by members of the Ku Klux K ...

, young civil rights workers in Mississippi. He also acted as the federal chief counsel during the Theron Lynd litigation, a circuit clerk and voter registrar in Forrest County, Mississippi accused of discrimination. He had earlier contributed to drafting the

Civil Rights Act of 1964 The Civil Rights Act of 1964 () is a landmark civil rights and United States labor law, labor law in the United States that outlaws discrimination based on Race (human categorization), race, Person of color, color, religion, sex, and nationa ...

, which

Lyndon Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after assassination of John F. Kennedy, the assassination of John F. Ken ...

signed to try to secure constitutional rights for all citizens. In March 1965, Doar was the first to arrive in

, during the third of the

Selma to Montgomery marches The Selma to Montgomery marches were three Demonstration (protest), protest marches, held in 1965, along the highway from Selma, Alabama, to the state capital of Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery. The marches were organized by Nonviolence, nonvi ...

. He walked into Montgomery half a block ahead of the march in his capacity as Assistant Attorney General. reprinted in Doar left the government in 1967. He went into private practice and worked for Bedford Stuyvesant Development Corporation. From late 1968 to 1969 he was president of the

New York City Board of Education The Panel for Educational Policy of the Department of Education of the City School District of the City of New York, abbreviated as the Panel for Educational Policy and also known as the New York City Board of Education, is the governing body of ...

. During his tenure he supported gender discrimination, opposing the entry of girls to all-boy high schools.

Nixon impeachment inquiry

Doar was hired in December 1973 to be the lead special counsel for the House Judiciary Committee's impeachment inquiry staff during the

. He supervised a team which in due course grew to 100 persons, including lawyers, investigators, clerks and stenographers. To minimize leaks he established strict rules of conduct that included this directive: "The staff of the impeachment inquiry shall not discuss with anyone outside the staff either the substance or procedure of their work or that of the committee."

Later life and death

He then started a law firm in New York City: Doar, Rieck, Kaley, & Mack. Doar died in

from congestive heart failure, aged 92. He was survived by his children: Gael, Michael,

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, prais ...

(a former Commissioner of the New York City Human Resources Administration) and Burke.

Gallery

Representation in film and television

*The 1988 film ''

Mississippi Burning ''Mississippi Burning'' is a 1988 American crime thriller film directed by Alan Parker and written by Chris Gerolmo that is loosely based on the 1964 investigation into the deaths of Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner in Mississippi. It stars ...

'' drew from the murders of the three civil rights workers. *Episode from the

Discovery Channel Discovery Channel, known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery, is an American cable channel that is best known for its ongoing reality television shows and promotion of pseudoscience. It init ...

series, "US Marshals: Mission in Mississippi" (1997). Interview with Doar about his role in

Justice Department A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

effort to enroll James Meredith at University of Mississippi in 1962. Doar and Chief US Marshal James McShane were given the job of enrolling Meredith by Attorney General Robert Kennedy. *In the 2014 film '' Selma'', he is portrayed by

Alessandro Nivola Alessandro Antine Nivola (born June 28, 1972) is an American actor. His work includes both screen and stage, and his accolades include a Screen Actors Guild Award, in addition to nominations for a Tony Award and an Independent Spirit Award. Ni ...

Legacy and honors

*Doar was awarded the

Presidential Medal of Freedom The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian award of the United States, alongside the Congressional Gold Medal. It is an award bestowed by decision of the president of the United States to "any person recommended to the President ...

in 2012. *In 2017, Doar's hometown of New Richmond dedicated the John Doar History Trail, celebrating his life with a series of panels placed along a path around the mill pond.

References

External links

Biography of John Doar
– Doar Rieck Kaley & Mack *
Q&A with John Doar
–

C-SPAN Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN ) is an American Cable television in the United States, cable and Satellite television in the United States, satellite television network, created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a Non ...

interview, January 12, 2009
John Doar papers
fro
Princeton University Library. Special Collections
{{DEFAULTSORT:Doar, John 1921 births 2014 deaths American men's basketball players People involved with the civil rights movement Kennedy administration personnel Lawyers from Minneapolis Lawyers from New York City People from New Richmond, Wisconsin Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients Princeton Tigers men's basketball players Selma to Montgomery marches UC Berkeley School of Law alumni United States Army Air Forces pilots of World War II United States assistant attorneys general for the Civil Rights Division Watergate scandal investigators Wisconsin lawyers Recipients of the President's Award for Distinguished Federal Civilian Service 20th-century American sportsmen Wisconsin Republicans