Judge Barefoot Sanders, Civil Rights Icon, Dies at Age 83
A “larger than life” federal judge who oversaw desegregation of Dallas schools has died at the age of 83.
U.S. District Judge Barefoot Sanders died Sunday at his Dallas home after battling an infection, the Dallas Morning News reports.
He once identified the highlight of his career as helping pass the Voting Rights Act when he was an assistant attorney general in the U.S. Justice Department. He also served three terms in the Texas legislature and was U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Texas. He was appointed to the bench by President Jimmy Carter in 1979 and retired in 2006.
U.S. District Judge Jane Boyle told the newspaper that Sanders was “truly larger than life.”
“From the core, he symbolized civil rights,” she said. “He knew that fairness took backbone, and that’s why he was able to make history.”
“If you close your eyes, and you knew him and you loved him, you’ll be able to smell that cigar smoke,” she added. “And it’ll make you smile.”
