Charles Atlas Walton (June 24, 1936 - February 19, 1996) was a lawyer and state legislator in Indiana. [1] [2] [3]
Walton was born June 24, 1936, in Lamkin, Mississippi, into a family of share-croppers who migrated in 1941 to Indiana. [4] He was educated in Indianapolis and graduated from Crispus Attucks High School in 1952. [1] He was awarded a scholarship at the age of 15 to allow him to attend Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia from where he obtained his Bachelor of Arts in 1956. [4] He then went on to earn a Juris Doctor in May 1959 from Indiana University's law school at just the age of 22. [4] In 1965 he was inducted into the Crispus Attucks Hall of Fame. [5]
He married his college classmate Joan Blackshear Walton and they were together for forty years. [4]
He was admitted to the bar in Indiana and started to work as a deputy prosecuting attorney and later he started up in private practice in the law firm Mance, Kuykendall and Chavis. [4] He was a president of the Marion County Bar Association in 1975, a member of the NAACP and was chairman of several committees in the National Bar Association. [4] During his legal career he worked with several firms including Walton and Pratt that he started with his daughter, son and son-in-law in 1992. [6]
The racial issues of the early 1960s in Indianapolis prompted him to become involved in politics and he joined the Marion County Democratic Party where he was an active member. [4] Walton was elected to the Indiana House of Representatives representing Marion County in 1964. [4] During his service he sponsored a number of bills focussing on the issues of criminal justice reform, public education, housing and school lunch programs. [4]
In 1987 he ran for mayor in Indianapolis. [6]
Walton died February 19, 1996, in Indianapolis and was survived by his wife and three children [1] [6]
Charles Atlas Walton (June 24, 1936 - February 19, 1996) was a lawyer and state legislator in Indiana. [1] [2] [3]
Walton was born June 24, 1936, in Lamkin, Mississippi, into a family of share-croppers who migrated in 1941 to Indiana. [4] He was educated in Indianapolis and graduated from Crispus Attucks High School in 1952. [1] He was awarded a scholarship at the age of 15 to allow him to attend Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia from where he obtained his Bachelor of Arts in 1956. [4] He then went on to earn a Juris Doctor in May 1959 from Indiana University's law school at just the age of 22. [4] In 1965 he was inducted into the Crispus Attucks Hall of Fame. [5]
He married his college classmate Joan Blackshear Walton and they were together for forty years. [4]
He was admitted to the bar in Indiana and started to work as a deputy prosecuting attorney and later he started up in private practice in the law firm Mance, Kuykendall and Chavis. [4] He was a president of the Marion County Bar Association in 1975, a member of the NAACP and was chairman of several committees in the National Bar Association. [4] During his legal career he worked with several firms including Walton and Pratt that he started with his daughter, son and son-in-law in 1992. [6]
The racial issues of the early 1960s in Indianapolis prompted him to become involved in politics and he joined the Marion County Democratic Party where he was an active member. [4] Walton was elected to the Indiana House of Representatives representing Marion County in 1964. [4] During his service he sponsored a number of bills focussing on the issues of criminal justice reform, public education, housing and school lunch programs. [4]
In 1987 he ran for mayor in Indianapolis. [6]
Walton died February 19, 1996, in Indianapolis and was survived by his wife and three children [1] [6]