Joseph E. Coleman

Joseph E. Coleman (1922-2000) was an American politician, attorney and chemist. He was a member of the Democratic Party.

Early life Coleman was born in 1922, and grew up in Mississippi during a time in which the southern United States was dominated by racial segregation and the Jim Crow laws. He went on to work as a research chemist, patent attorney and author.

City council In 1971, Coleman was elected to be president of the Philadelphia City Council, representing the Eighth District.

As President, Coleman sought to maintain a more conciliatory atmosphere than the more combative Schwartz.

Retirement After surviving a tough re-election contest in 1987, in which the Philadelphia Inquirer strongly endorsed his Republican opponent, Coleman announced that he would not seek re-election on February 14, 1991. Herbert DeBeary, a former Democratic primary opponent of Coleman's, went on to win the election to succeed him. In 2002, the Philadelphia Free Library system's Northwest Regional Library, located in Germantown, was renamed the Joseph E. Coleman Northwest Regional Library.

Albright College also created a scholarship award in Coleman's honor. The Distinguished Joseph E. Coleman Award provides financial assistance ranging from $8,000 to $12,000 to African-American students that show academic excellence as well as community and/or extracurricular involvement.