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Thomas Hart, Sr. /Courtesy photo provided by Thomas Hart Jr.
Thomas Hart, Sr. Leaves Lasting Legacy By Barrington M. Salmon WI Staff Writer Linda C. Taliaferro recalls working at Westinghouse Electric Corporation when she first encountered Thomas A. Hart, Sr. “Oh, it was back in the mid-70s. I was working with the Advanced Reactors Division and he was a senior person,” said Taliaferro, an internal bank auditor and anti-money laundering specialist. “He saw my name, looked me up and in chatting he asked if I was a minority. He asked where I was from – we’re both from Massachusetts – and he asked me who my father was. I loved him for that.” Taliaferro’s father, Ernest C. “Bunny” Taliaferro, was a formidable three-sport athlete who played in the 1930s and who was well regarded for his prowess. Hart, an avid sports aficionado had seen the elder Taliaferro play. “He reached in and became my mentor. My life changed and took off,” said Taliaferro. “He was a wonderful mentor. He told me I could do this, meet that person and gain these different experiences.” Hart’s son, Thomas Jr., said Taliaferro’s story was a common theme threaded throughout his father’s 93 years. “I admired my father’s ability to motivate people,” said Hart, director of government relations at Quarles & Brady, LLP in Northwest. “He was an advisor to presidents and members of Congress, a mentor and guiding force for athletes, engineers and others.” “He motivated them with an interesting blend of encouragement and tough love. They don’t make people like that much anymore,” www.washingtoninformer.com
Howard University from 1948 to 1964 where he also served as varsity head coach for basketball, track and field, golf, swimming and wrestling. His team won Howard’s first Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association wrestling championship in 1951, and Hart was later inducted into the Howard University Hall of Fame. On leave from Howard, he was dispatched by the U.S. State Department to travel with his family to West Africa where they lived from 1958-61. While there, Hart served as national track and field coach and head Olympic coach for the Ghanaian men and women’s track teams for the 1960 Olympics in Rome, Italy. Missouri Congressman William Lacey Clay (D), a close friend of
the younger Hart, said their families have been intertwined for decades. He grew up in the District, mainly around Howard, and through his dad, Bill and his parents’ friends, he met Hart. “He was one of the first African-American corporate lobbyists in Congress,” Clay said. “Dad was a founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) and our families got to know each other. He (Hart) was a legendary figure in this country and he was able to persevere in a time that was not best for people of color in this country. His legend will certainly stand the test of time. I’m so glad we crossed paths.” Clay credited Hart with being “the soul of CBC’s funding.” “He was linked to corporate
America. It’s one thing to have vision but another thing entirely to have resources,” said Clay. “The CBC did so much with so little in the early years advancing the agenda of African Americans and he helped fund think tanks, gave them the synergy and helped develop the CBC.” Taliaferro said Hart was an extraordinary man who gave of himself freely. “To me, he represented a quiet integrity. It is because of him that I was the only woman founder in the Blacks in Energy group. He treated me with such dignity and respect. All of the guys did, but he sort of set the tone. He could critique without belittling and he made his point without overpowering others,” she said. wi
Hart said, his voice softening and breaking with emotion. The senior Hart died at the Residences at Thomas Circle in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 5. He was born in Williamstown, Mass. in 1919 and moved to the District in 1948. Hart attended Hampton University, New York University (NYU) and the University of Illinois and earned his doctorate in education from NYU in 1958. Hart served in the U.S. Army from 1942-1946, rose to the rank of technical sergeant, and was in charge of physical fitness, sports and special services for all “Colored” troops at Chanute Field, Ill. He was professor of Health, Physical Education and Recreation at
The Washington Informer
Jan. 17, 2013 - Jan. 23, 2013
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