Stanley Tolliver

Stanley Eugene Tolliver Sr. (October 29, 1925 – January 3, 2011) was an African American attorney, school board president, and civil rights activist. He was a legal counsel for Martin Luther King Jr., the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the Congress of Racial Equality, Fred Ahmed Evans, and students charged in the Kent State shootings. He was also the founder of Beta Sigma Tau, the first national collegiate fraternity that was interracial and interreligious.

Early life Toliver was born in Cleveland, Ohio, on October 29, 1925. His parents were Edna and Eugene Tolliver. He passed his bar exam in 1953, while still in the Army. the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and the Congress of Racial Equality.

In 1981 he was elected to membership on the Cleveland Board of Education and in his twelve years of service, was elected board President twice. Beginning with this appointment, he often spoke on the value of more parental involvement in the lives of Cleveland schoolchildren and was firmly entrenched in the issues of civil rights in the community. Tolliver was president of the Norman S. Minor Bar Association and the local chapter of the National Conference of Black Lawyers.

Honors In 1978, Tolliver received the Outstanding Alumnus Award from Baldwin-Wallace College and was inducted into the East Technical High School’s Athletic Hall of Fame. He also collected wide-brimmed hats.