W. Haywood Burns, first Black law school dean in New York State and prominent attorney, dies in car crash

Jet, April 29, 1996

W. Haywood Burns, the first Black to become dean of a law school in the state of New York and a prominent attorney, recently was killed from head injuries in a car crash in Cape Town, South Africa. He was 55.

Burns was attending a conference sponsored by the International Association of Democratic Lawyers Congress.

He made history in the state of New York by becoming the first Black law school dean of the City University of New York Law School (CUNY), where he served from 1987 to 1994. He was also a professor and CUNY administrator for 17 years having served as vice provost, dean of Urban and Legal Problems at City College and director of City College's Center for Legal Education and Urban Policy.

A graduate of Harvard University and Yale Law School, Burns made a name for himself in the late '60s and early '70s as an attorney by representing outspoken activist Angela Davis against kidnapping charges. He also represented the Attica prison inmates after the prison rebellion there in 1971. Burns also worked with the late great Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Last year, Burns was a visiting professor at his alma mater, Yale Law School, and he returned to the CUNY Law School faculty last fall.

He is survived by his wife, Jennifer Dohrn, two sons from his first marriage, Seth and Jeremiah, three stepchildren, two brothers and a sister.