Benjamin Zelenko, Lawyer Who Worked on Civil Rights Act, Dies at 90

Benjamin Zelenko, Lawyer Who Worked on Civil Rights Act, Dies at 90

Benjamin Zelenko meeting President Lyndon Johnson (Courtesy of the Zelenko family) In the 1960s, as the House Judiciary Committee fought through negotiations over the Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act, young attorney Benjamin Louis Zelenko sat at a narrow table in a crowded hearing room, drafting and redrafting language that would help shape landmark legislation. He later told his family how he moved between the committee and the Justice De…