When retired U.S. Army Captain Joseph Hairston was honored Monday at a luncheon at the George Washington University, it was for a multitude of public service accomplishments—any one of which would have been impressive enough to merit recognition.
Born in a log cabin, he was a member of the National Honor Society by the time he graduated from high school, and in World War II—while the United States Army was still a segregated institution—Mr. Hairston served in the 92nd Infantry Division, the only African-American division to serve in European combat. He persevered against the odds to become the Army’s first African-American helicopter pilot, was a member of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s security detail at the 1963 March on Washington and was the first African-American senior executive in the Internal Revenue Service’s Office of Chief Counsel.
As Ronald Jessamy, J.D. ’73, who introduced the honoree, said: “[Mr. Hairston’s] biography reads like the script of a made-for-TV movie.”
The tribute took place at the Kenneth D. Gray Excellence in Jurisprudence Award Luncheon in the Grand Ballroom of the Marvin Center. The award, which honors military service members, veterans and families, is the brainchild of Associate Dean for Trial Advocacy Alfreda Robinson. It was co-sponsored by GW Law School and by the Washington Bar Association, the regional affiliate of the National Bar Association, which is the oldest and largest national association of African-American attorneys and judges.
GW Law School Dean Blake D. Morant, a former member of the U.S. Army JAG Corps, also attended the luncheon, which he said was a “signature event” for the Law School.
“It’s deeply important to recognize individuals in the military who dedicated their lives to public service, especially at a time when segregation was so rampant,” he said. “Capt. Hairston’s story is testament to his self-determination and hard work in the face of overwhelming obstacles. And we hope his story can inspire our students when they face their own—perhaps not quite so enormous—challenges.”
The program of speakers included Karen E. Evans, president of the Washington Bar Association; B.J. Penn, M.S. ’80, former acting secretary of the U.S. Navy and co-chair of Making History: the Campaign for GW; Vice Admiral (retired) Mel Williams Jr., GW’s associate provost for military and veterans affairs; and Elisa Basnight, director of the Center for Women Veterans in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the founder of Girls Action Network.
The guests were equally distinguished. Two of Mr. Hairston’s daughters and his wife of 72 years were present, as were as members of the Washington, D.C., judiciary and D.C. Council. Tebelelo Mazile Seretse, ambassador of the Republic of Botswana to the United States, was a surprise guest. She said she had met Mr. Hairston previously and had been so impressed by his story that she made a point of attending the celebration.
Mr. Hairston, who climbed the stage to a standing ovation, spoke resonantly of the challenges and joys of his long career, from being harassed with racial insults in an Army where the population was only 1 percent African-American to holding a senior executive position at the IRS.
“When I started doing the hiring and firing, there were only two or three black tax lawyers in the country,” he recalled. “By the time I left, we had 10 percent.
“So things are coming along nicely,” he added.