Source: United States Department of Justice
Remarks as Prepared for Delivery
The Attorney General is always a tough act to follow. But I will now take my best shot at it and, if I can, say a few words about the incredible life and legacy of Steve Pollak.
In 1886, Oliver Wendell Holmes, lecturing at Harvard Law School, spoke of the opportunity to “live greatly in the law.” It was, and is, an admirable aspiration — to transcend the everyday limits of legal practice, to make a lasting contribution, to earn respect and approbation that endures.
Steve Pollak did not merely live greatly in the law. He inspired others to do the same. Throughout his decades of service and mentorship, Steve was a beacon of hope and justice for both the victims of discrimination and the civil rights warriors seeking to protect them.
In 1962, as an assistant to Solicitor General Archibald Cox, Steve worked alongside Attorney General Robert Kennedy in the department’s efforts to allow James Meredith to enroll at the University of Mississippi.
On his very first day in the Civil Rights Division, Steve was deployed to Selma, Alabama, after state troopers attacked peaceful protesters marching across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, on the day now infamous as Bloody Sunday. Steve’s role was to ensure that state and local officials complied with a federal court order allowing the demonstrators to proceed to the state Capitol in Montgomery. As Steve described his mission, he “met with the leaders of the march to understand what their plans were and understand what they were doing to ensure the safety of the marchers.” In turn, Pollak used those conversations to “prepare [] for possible interference.”
The march led to passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, a keystone of our federal civil rights laws. Here, too, Steve played a central role, helping to negotiate the final draft bill with Senators Mike Mansfield and Everett Dirksen. He worked with scissors and scotch tape to stitch the bill together, going through the pile of remnants at the end of each day to ensure that nothing significant was omitted. In the development of civil rights law — the authorities on which the lawyers in the Civil Rights Division rely every day — Steve was not just present at the creation. He was one of the creators.
From 1965 to 1967, Steve served as first assistant to Assistant Attorney General John Doar. He ran the Civil Rights Division in late 1967 as a special assistant to the Attorney General. And in January 1968, at the age of 39, he was confirmed as Assistant Attorney General.
In leading the division, Steve relentlessly advanced civil rights laws in the face of dogged Southern resistance. For example, Steve instructed division attorneys to respond more aggressively to police brutality. Under the Justice Department policy at the time, the division could act only in “compelling circumstances,” which was often a prescription for passivity. Steve redefined the term to include failure of state or local authorities to prosecute an offending officer.
Steve also held other critical roles in federal government. He was an advisor to President Lyndon B. Johnson, served as counsel in the War Against Poverty, headed by Sargent Shriver and drafted the legislation creating the Volunteers in Service to America program.
Steve also showed how to live greatly in the law from the private sector. Not only did his legal practice unfailingly include a robust docket of pro bono matters, but also, through his Bar work, he facilitated the pro bono efforts of thousands of D.C. lawyers. And Steve never stopped working to advance civil rights. In 1981, he argued before the Supreme Court on behalf of students with disabilities in University of Texas v. Camenisch. In 1971, in Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education, he challenged school desegregation in Charlotte, North Carolina, telling the Supreme Court that “the existence of segregated neighborhoods could not be used in this case as a reason for maintaining black schools since the segregation was not de facto — or segregation resulting from housing patterns.” The segregation, he said, resulted from government actions. These were just two of 12 cases he argued before the Court.
I had the pleasure of working closely with Steve during my time at the helm of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. Steve served on the Board of Directors and was one of the organization’s most active members, especially in fighting voting discrimination, ensuring access to the ballot and supporting election protection efforts across the country. The experience Steve had on the ground in Selma and the bruising battles he fought to implement civil rights laws in the 1960s shaped his career, long past his tenure in the Civil Rights Division.
At the division’s 65th Anniversary celebration in December 2022, Steve spoke about the foundational period in which he served, recounting our compelling history and reminding us of the sacred trust we bear:
“I did not do it alone. I served with great people in the division…There were outstanding people then and there are outstanding people now. It’s a great honor to serve in the department. I think it was the best of my career. All of you who are serving now or have served, I commend you and commend your tasks. These are great laws that you are enforcing, and they need everything that you can give them.”
Today, this remembrance will review and honor Steve’s civil rights legacy. Paul Hancock, Co-President of the Civil Rights Division Association, will moderate a panel discussion featuring some of the “outstanding people” who worked with Steve here. A second panel, moderated by Jon Greenbaum, Vice-Chair of the Civil Rights Division Association, will address Steve’s civil rights work after he left the division. And Dorothy Landsberg, another distinguished alum of the division’s early days and close friend of Steve’s, will narrate a short slide show of key moments in Steve’s career. In addition, at the conclusion of the program, we will remember other CRT alumni who passed away recently.
I hope that you find this program informative and enjoyable, that it shows how we can move mountains through skill and perseverance, and that it inspires each of us to rededicate ourselves to the quest for equal justice.