Published: July 11, 2008 11:18 pm      

Activist Coleman recalled as "necessary irritant"

Louisville — The bullhorn the Rev. Louis Coleman carried with him on hundreds of civil-rights protests across Kentucky was silent Friday, resting next to his casket draped with white flowers.

Hundreds of mourners said goodbye Friday to Coleman, who kept a high profile as Kentucky's best-known civil rights activist until his sudden death on Saturday. He was 64.

The funeral mixed joyous gospel tunes with solemn and humorous remembrances of Coleman, who relentlessly called attention to gang violence, police brutality, corporate polluters and the need for more minority business opportunities.

"He was always ready to step out in front, like a drum major, to lead and sometimes he prodded our community to action," said Ben Richmond, president of Louisville's Urban League. "But instead of carrying a drum major's baton, Louis relied on a bullhorn."

Coleman grew up in Louisville and attended the same high school in the 1960s as Muhammad Ali. A star athlete, he played minor league baseball professionally for a season and was an assistant football coach at Kentucky State University, his alma mater.

In 1975, Coleman founded the Justice Resource Center, which became a launching pad for his civil-rights career. In the 1990s, he led protests at Valhalla Golf Course, the site of this year's Ryder Cup, and at the construction site of the University of Louisville's new football stadium to complain about the lack of minority contractors.

A lifelong friend, Mitchell Payne, an official at the university, recalled having to confront Coleman at the stadium protest.

"I call him my godfather, fraternity brother and spiritual leader — but I had to arrest him one day," Payne said to loud laughter at the funeral service. Payne said even during the arrest, Coleman kept a lighthearted mood.

As Coleman was being put in a police cruiser, he leaned over to Payne to make a request:

"Can you tell the police to loosen my handcuffs a little? They're killing my wrists," Payne said.

Coleman's sudden death on Saturday after a series of seizures brought a wave of responses from civil-rights leaders, state politicians and businessmen.

David Jones, who co-founded health insurance giant Humana, called Coleman "the conscience of the community," in a letter to a Louisville newspaper. Gov. Steve Beshear attended a wake for Coleman on Thursday and Payne read a letter from Kentucky Congressman John Yarmuth at the funeral.

Coleman did not limit his protests to Louisville. He was a frequent visitor to the state Capitol in Frankfort and traveled to the foothills of Appalachia in 2004 to complain about the treatment of a group of blacks by Richmond police during an arrest.

He also targeted smokestack emissions and called for better pollution controls at a plant owned by DuPont, where Coleman's father once worked. More recently, he led dozens of protests in front of Louisville police headquarters after the 2004 shooting of 19-year-old Michael Newby by Louisville police during a botched drug bust.

"Louis Coleman was a necessary irritant to the power structure," said the Rev. Walter Malone Jr., pastor at Canaan Christian Church where the afternoon funeral was held. "You cannot replace him."

In addition to protesting, Coleman developed programs focusing on Louisville's poor communities. He passed out free school supplies to children and used funds to buy guns with the aim of keeping them off the streets.

"He practiced justice," said another friend, the Rev. Kevin Cosby. "He made sure there was an equal playing field."

Coleman was buried Friday at Calvary Cemetery in Shelbyville.



Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.