It seems that every news cycle brings yet another story about how the current president is suing one enemy or another. Recently, major law firms were strong-armed into making monetary or pro bono contributions to organizations friendly to the president. But in the 1970s, Minneapolis and St. Paul had a legal firm that aggressively defended individuals and organizations working on behalf of low-income and minority clients. The firm was the Legal Aid Society, and its leaders were executive director Paul Marino and chief counsel Bernie Becker.
Marino’s obituary describes him as: “Best known for his community activism, dramatic and thought-provoking lectures, and for his landmark work defending tenant rights and victims of discrimination—Paul Marino was a soldier for social justice and lived with honor, integrity, and devotion to his family.” Bernie Becker was a native of New York, and during his splendid legal career, Becker was well known as a champion of the rights of the disadvantaged. He is especially remembered as an expert on Native American law and for his advocacy for the rights of Native Americans.
These obituaries don’t do justice to the two men who had such an impact on Minneapolis during the early 1970s. Working with a group of community organizers and housing advocates, Paul and Bernie helped stop the destruction of the Cedar-Riverside community and provided legal advice to the organizers of the Minneapolis Tenants Union.
Paul was a diminutive native of the Bronx who often sounded like he had a mouth full of marbles when he spoke. Bernie was a heavyset Brooklyn native who often had food stains on his colorful ties. Bernie was as direct as Paul was complicated.
A good example occurred when I was working as the housing coordinator for Pillsbury-Waite Neighborhood Services. I received a call one morning from a man named Gary Cooper (like the movie star). Gary had come back to his apartment and found a “lockout” key in his door. These were devices that landlords could insert into the lock to prevent the tenant from entering. Gary had had a dispute over a guest—someone who had a former argument with the caretaker. Now Gary couldn’t access his apartment, and he needed to get in and change into his work clothes. Gary was panicky when he called me, and I told him I would be right over. I called my colleague Helen Miller, who worked near Gary’s apartment, and we arranged to meet Gary at his place. Sure enough, his key was blocked from the lock.
We told him to wait, and we would check to see what could be done. From Helen’s office (there were no cell phones in the early 1970s), we called the Legal Aid Society and spoke to Paul Marino. Paul said he and Bernie were leaving for a lunch meeting, but if we hurried, we could meet them on the sidewalk outside their office. We quickly drove to the appointed location and explained the situation to the two attorneys.
Paul thought for a few minutes, and then, in Bronx legalese, he gave us a detailed explanation of tenant-landlord law. After a few minutes, Bernie interrupted Paul and said, “You go back and kick the f**king door in,” which is exactly what we did. Gary was able to get his clothes, and the caretaker, while threatening to call the police, quieted down when a VISTA attorney arrived and explained the law. The attorney negotiated an agreement that the property owner would pay for repairs and refrain in the future from such illegal practices. Paul was able to write an article for a legal journal referencing, tongue-in-cheek, the similarity to the recent movie High Noon starring Gary Cooper, and the incident was the basis for some new legislation introduced with the help of Legal Aid, the League of Women Voters, and the Junior League.
About the same time, a couple of university professors, Keith Heller and Gloria Siegel, conceived a proposal to tear down much of the Cedar-Riverside community near the university’s West Bank campus. A group of community organizers, led by Jack Cann, met with Legal Aid attorneys and a HUD official, Charley Warner, and devised a plan to stop the development, which would destroy an affordable, historic neighborhood. Construction had already begun, and the first segment, called Cedar Square West, was nearing completion. HUD considered this part of its “New Town In Town” concept and initially supported it because it was designed to be racially and economically integrated. Local organizers saw this as a flawed concept and, working with Legal Aid, filed a complaint with HUD, alleging that the city had failed to meet its requirements for replacing the affordable housing that would be lost. HUD eventually agreed, funding for the project dried up, and the West Bank was saved. Today, the Phase One Cedar Square West is the center of the Somali community in Minneapolis.
Paul Marino compared the Gary Cooper incident to the film High Noon. I sometimes think of Paul and Bernie as Butch and Sundance. As advocates for neighborhoods and lower-income individuals, it was a blessing to have two brilliant and committed attorneys on our side.
