His Sensitivity to Civil Liberties Began Right Here
 | | Phil Eure '79 |
Phil Eure '79
Articulate, compassionate, committed, PHIL EURE '79 has dedicated his life to human rights causes that have benefited from these three qualities, which he says were refined at Nobles. "Nobles' very strong community service component allowed me to do an internship at the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination several afternoons a week. I helped shepherd people with complaints alleging discrimination through the process," he recalled. Following graduation from Nobles, he went on to obtain an undergraduate degree from Stanford and a law degree from Harvard Law School.
After a stint as a federal prosecutor in Alexandria, Virginia, the bulk of his career has been spent in the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), bringing employment discrimination suits against state and local governments alleged to be in violation of Civil Rights codes. "We brought suits all over the country," he said, "in cases where people had been denied job opportunities based on race, national origin, gender, religion, among other grounds." On a year-long sabbatical from his DOJ stint in 1997-'98, Eure worked on a law reform project to help judges and prosecutors in Haiti improve their skills and the administration of justice. This, ironically, was when the U.S. government tried to bring Aristide back to power. About the recent departure of Aristide, Eure referred to it as "very dangerous" and pointed out "it's not good for a democracy to allow a self-appointed military junta to overthrow a president."
Four years ago, Eure was offered the opportunity to create from scratch and head up, as Executive Director, a new city agency, the Office of Citizens' Complaint Review in Washington, which oversees the police in the nation's capital. "Because of my background as a civil rights attorney, I believe that was critical to my selection," Eure conjectured. Four months after he was hired, the doors of that office opened. Not surprisingly, the D.C. office is considered one of the leading police oversight agencies in the country. The Office is dedicated to investigating, mediating and adjudicating complaints of police misconduct, usually involving excessive force. He and his staff generally handle 300 complaints a year. "Like my other positions, this one is dedicated to ensuring the protection of civil rights," Eure said.
Besides the fact that his parents participated in various Civil Rights protests during the 1960s, he credits two of his Nobles courses and teachers with "inspiring a sensitivity to human rights." The first was in Middle School in WILLIAM CHAMBERLIN'S basic legal system/ geography class. "Chamberlin inspired a love and curiosity about other cultures," Eure said. The second was JOHN PAINE'S ethics class. "This class also made a great impact on me," he added.
For utility, MICHEL BEVILLARD'S French class inspired him to continue studying this language in college. He spent his junior year in Paris while at Stanford and later found his French training indispensable while in Haiti.
Of his time at Nobles, Eure recalls initially not wanting to attend. "My parents forced me to go the first year, saying 'If you don't like it, you can come back to Sharon schools in the eighth grade.' They felt strongly that I'd get a better education." Obviously, their strategy worked.
What has impressed Eure most about Nobles since his graduation in 1979 is the concerted effort the school has made to diversify itself. "The Nobles I went to was very different. I'm very proud of my school," he said firmly.
--Joyce Leffler Eldridge
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