Percy Julian Jr., son of the famed scientist and civil rights advocate, confessed to not spending as much time with his father as he would have liked as a child. His dad was usually on the road giving lectures or at his laboratory doing what he loved to do.

The younger Julian, though, often recalled one moment with his father, shortly after the family’s Oak Park home was fire-bombed in1950. The family was unharmed, but the elder Julian was so upset by the incident that he sat in a tree near the house for several nights after the attack keeping watch. Percy Julian Jr., would sit in the tree with his dad, a time he remembered later among his favorite memories as a child because the two were able to spend a little time together.

The story was among many Percy Jr. would share about his father. Last Sunday, Julian, 67, died from complications of the stroke he suffered in his Madison, Wis. home on Saturday. He never regained consciousness.

Julian did break free of his father’s shadow, becoming a pioneer as a civil rights attorney. The Capital Times newspaper in Madison reported Wednesday that he was best known for his work in employment discrimination and voting-rights lawsuits across the country.

Like his father did through the field of science, Julian Jr. would use his professional career as a means of addressing social injustice.

Growing up in Oak Park, he was the older of two children. His sister, Faith, still lives in the village. His parents, Percy and Anna Julian, a teacher and social worker, married in 1935. Both would become advocates for civil and human rights.

Oak Park Housing Center founder Roberta L. Raymond, who knew both Percy Sr. and Jr. said: “Even though the Julian children had some unpleasant experiences in Oak Park, they also are very much a product of this community-bright, creative, well-educated people. Percy Julian Sr. said to me that if he had it do over, he might not have made the move to Oak Park because his children had experienced some social problems when parties and dating began. Yet what he sought was a good education for his children, and I believe he achieved that.

“When I was a senior at OPRF High School, Percy Jr. was a freshman-very young looking and somewhat shy in those days. He was the only black student at the high school then. He often looked lonely. He went on to a career in law, became charming and sophisticated, and had many interests. But I often think of him as that vulnerable young man, wondering why he was often treated differently, wanting to be part of the world that teenagers occupy.

“Percy Jr. was, in many ways, a “renaissance man”-lawyer, intellectual, activist, chef, photographer, plus other interests and talents. As president of the OPRFHS Alumni Association, I am constantly amazed by the accomplishments of our graduates. They achieve on a high level. Percy Jr. and I are both recipients of the school’s Tradition of Excellence Award. But there are thousands of high-achieving graduates all over the world. Percy Jr. may have been lonely at times but he also absorbed the best of what the schools had to offer a receptive student.”

On April 11, 1999, friends, family and admirers of Percy Julian Sr. came together in Oak Park to celebrate the 100th anniversary of his birth. Percy Jr. came in Madison Wis., was a surprise guest at the banquet, and ended the evening’s festivities by summarizing the most important lessons he had learned from his famous father. Here’s how Wednesday Journal reported it at the time:

“The past does not equal the future,” his father believed. “We can learn from the past, but the future is what we make of it. That’s the foundation for any kind of progress.” Julian also espoused the adage, “There’s always a way,” his son said. “It’s up to us to find the way and sometimes we need people to serve as the light at the end of the tunnel.” Lesson three: “Demand more from yourself than anyone else ever could or would.” That, Percy Jr. said, is the “core belief of dreamers,” which leads to lesson four: “Hold fast to your dreams. Dreams make reality, not the other way around. If you haven’t learned that, you don’t understand the nature of progress. Dreams change the world.” And finally: “Purpose is stronger than outcome. It’s why you do things that matter. [My father] wanted to help people. His purpose was much stronger than his outcome.

“These are the lessons I learned from my father,” Percy Jr. said, “and that we pass on through events like this. This is the celebration of a community,” he added, thanking the organizers, “and a community needs heroes to survive. This is how changes come and differences are made. And this is the legacy my father can leave with you.”

And the legacy Percy Julian Jr. seems to have lived out as well.

Percy Lavon Julian Jr. was born in 1940 in Chicago. Graduating from Ohio‘s Oberlin College in 1962 with a bachelor’s degree in political science, he went on to receive a doctorate in law from the University of Wisconsin in 1966. Julian had practiced law in Madison since 1967.

He was featured in the NOVA documentary about his father Forgotten Genius, which premiered last year. Julian shared the story about the family home’s bombing in the film.

He is survived by his wife, Jan Blackmon, and one daughter, Kathy Julian.

There will be a memorial service Friday, March 7, at 3 p.m., at Monona Terrace, the convention center in Madison, Wis.

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