Robert E. Bryant, died June 23, 2004 at 12:44 p.m. Mr. Bryant practiced Law in Chicago for more than 40 years. A Native of Chattanooga, TN, Mr. Bryant grew up in Chicago where he lived since 1924. He was a graduate of Wendell Phillips High School and of Central YMCA College. He received his legal training at Chicago-Kent College of Law. He did graduate work in Hospital Administration at the University of Minnesota and earned his Master’s Degree in Public Administration at Roosevelt University as recent as 1979. During World War II, Mr. Bryant served as Special Counsel to the Chicago Branch NAACP in which capacity he worked in close harmony with retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. Mr. Bryant became an authority in Extradition Law. His rationale in the First Public Hearing in a job discrimination case over which he presided for the Illinois FEPC in 1964 is regarded by many Lawyers as the Forerunner of Affirmative Action Programs today. Mr. Bryant was a member of Tabernacle Baptist Church where he was ordanined a Gospel Minister in 1969. He was a member of the Cook County, The National, and the American Bar Association. Survivors include two sons and a daughter; a brother; one sister; three grandchildren and one great-granddaughter. As a longime Proponent of continuing education, it was Mr. Bryant’s wish that his remains be used for training medical personnel and the advancement of Medical Science through education and research. Accordingly, no funeral services will be had.
