Former Detroit judge and Michigan State Representative James Del Rio died, his biographer confirmed.
Born in 1924, Del Rio attended the University of Michigan and the Detroit College of Law. He was elected to the State House of Representatives in 1965 and re-elected in 1966 and 1968.
While serving in the Michigan legislature, Del Rio commuted daily from Detroit to Lansing, finishing high school, college and law school in less than seven years.
In 1972, he was elected as a judge in the Recorder's Court in Detroit.
Del Rio was part of the Detroit Council for Human Rights, the organization that spearheaded the 1963 Detroit Freedom March demonstration, where over 125,000 gathered in protest. On that day, Dr. Martin Luther King made his famous "I Have a Dream" speech.
He retired from the Recorder's Court after he was diagnosed with a severe illness, which he eventually survived. He then moved to San Diego, where he eventually retired and spent his free time volunteering.
He is survived by his six children and several grandchildren.
Memorial donations in his memory can be made to the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History in Detroit and the Walter P. Reuther Library.
