20 May 9 • 2019
jn

DAVID SACHS CONTRIBUTING WRITER
A

fter teaching constitutional 
law for more than a half-cen-
tury, Wayne State University’
s 
nationally renowned law professor 
Robert Sedler has had a giant impact 
not only in the classroom but also on 
society. 
A veteran of integration struggles 
in the South, Sedler, 83, has champi-
oned civil rights and civil liberties in 
Michigan and across America.
On Saturday, May 11, he will be 
honored with the “Champion of 
Justice” award at the annual dinner of 
the Michigan Association for Justice, 
a statewide organization of trial attor-
neys.

Before coming to Detroit in 1977, 
Sedler taught law at the University of 
Kentucky in Lexington, where he used 
his knowledge and wits to fight anti-
black segregation in the city.
Lexington, at the time, had a small, 
longstanding Jewish community whose 
members were prosperous but who 
“knew their place” in the midst of the 
prevailing white gentile establishment, 
Sedler said. But in the 1960s, out-
spoken “Jews from the East” (Sedler 
is a Pittsburgh native) came to town 
and boldly sought to remedy racial 
discrimination. In 1966, he served as 
a volunteer lawyer for the American 
Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

“The local Jews were very upset 
about the visibility of people like me,” 
Sedler said. “They feared this would 
bring down the wrath of the so-called 
‘
goyim.’
 But if you look at the history 
of the Civil Rights Movement, you will 
see that Jews have played a very prom-
inent role.”

FAIR HOUSING LAWS
Lexington, like most American cities, 
had rampant housing discrimination. 
There was, however, a local civil rights 
commission, and a Jewish dentist on it 
asked Sedler to help bring about a fair 
housing law.
At the time, discriminatory real estate 

agents professed the view that home-
owners could sell or not sell their houses 
to whomever they wanted — and the 
government couldn’
t compel otherwise. 
Sedler realized that to achieve a fair 
housing law, he had to provide politi-
cal cover to those local politicians who 
wanted to enact it.
Sedler’
s strategy was to have the pol-
iticians not contest that homeowners 
were free to choose who would buy their 
houses. The only exception would be if 
a real estate agent were involved in the 
sale, then no discrimination would be 
permitted. Under this theory, about 99 
percent of all sales would be covered by 
the fair housing law.
Thus, instead of labeling it a “Fair 
Housing Act,
” Sedler called it “
A Bill 
to Regulate Commercial Real Estate 
Transactions.
” It was enacted — making 
the Lexington area the first locale in the 
South to pass fair housing legislation. 
A year later, the Kentucky legislature 
adopted the law statewide.
“I’
m very proud of that,
” Sedler said. 
“That was my brainchild.
” 
Sedler also helped successfully 
desegregate the merged Louisville and 
Jefferson County, Ky., public schools 
with suburban-city busing. (In contrast, 
at about the same time, cross-district 
busing was rejected for Metro Detroit.) 
“Today, the most integrated state in 
the country is Kentucky,
” Sedler said.
During his time in Kentucky, Sedler 
said he became “notorious” for defend-
ing draft resisters and anti-war protes-
tors. He even argued two cases before 
the U.S. Supreme Court.
When he came to the Wayne State 
Law School in 1977, his social activism 
didn’
t cease. He said he felt right at home 
in Detroit — this area being similar to 
his rustbelt origins in Pittsburgh.

LIFELONG ADVOCACY
Sedler has been married to Rozanne 
Sedler, a social worker, for 59 years, 
and they have two grown children and 
four grandchildren. The couple live 
in Southfield and belong to Temple 
Emanu-El in Oak Park, a Reform con-
gregation.
“Social action is a very important part 
of my Jewish identity,
” Sedler said. In 
turn, he served as an at-large member of 
Reform Judaism’
s Joint Commission on 
Social Action from 2003-2009. He’
s still 
on its Amicus Brief Committee, provid-
ing supportive legal briefs in cases before 
the U.S. Supreme Court.
In the early 1980s, Sedler began 

jews d
in 
the

 
Champion of Justice

Fighting for the underdog defi
 nes Professor Robert Sedler’
s career.

continued on page 22

Distinguished Professor Robert 

A. Sedler and Michigan Attorney 

General Dana Nessel, Wayne 

Law class of 1994, at the Law 

School’
s 2017 Treasure of 

Detroit Gala

COURTESY OF WAYNE STATE LAW SCHOOL

