'Allen Broussard' (
1929 –
1996) was an
African American judge.
He was born in
Lake Charles,
Louisiana on
April 13,
1929; the son of Clemire and Eugenia Broussard. At the age of 16, he moved with his family to
California. His father was a
longshoreman, and his mother worked as a
seamstress.
As a young man, Broussard had various part-time jobs including selling shoes and working in a canning plant. He financed his own education, first at
San Francisco City College, then
UC Berkeley and finally
Boalt Hall School of Law. While at Boalt, he was Vice-President of the Boalt Hall Law Students Association. After graduating in
1953, he served in the
United States Army for two years. After leaving the Army, he became the research attorney for Presiding Justice
Raymond Peters.
As chairman of a civic organization called ''Men of Tomorrow'' he contacted the program director, Odessa, of the radio station KSAN seeking free air time. He went on to marry her in 1959 and they had two sons, Keith and Craig.
He was the first African-American to be elected President of the California Judges Association (1972). He also became Chairman of the Board of the Center for Judicial Education and Research.
He was also known for cooking Louisiana style
Gumbo.
He was part of the
coterie which used to meet at the
pharmacy of
William Byron Rumford, along with
Lionel Wilson.
After retiring from the
judiciary, Allen served on the
Oakland Port Commission which involved visiting ports around the world, especially Asia. In
1987, Allen led a group of 72 lawyers and city officials on a 3-week long trip to
China meeting the Mayor of
Shanghai,
Jiang Zemin. Shanghai is a "
twin city" of
San Francisco.
Career
:Judge of the Municipal Court for the Oakland-Piedmont (now Oakland-Piedmont-Emeryville) Judicial District (1964 – 1975)
:Judge of the Superior Court of
Alameda County (1975 – 1981)
:Associate Justice of
California Supreme Court (1981 – 1991)
External Link
★
In Memoriam: Honorable Allen E. Broussard (1929 – 1996)