The Week of March 19th, 2006: IN BLACK HISTORY
K. LEROY IRVIS
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K. Leroy Irvis was born December 27, 1919 in Saugerties, a small village in New York’s Hudson River Valley. A brilliant student, Irvis’ passion for knowledge led him to pursue his higher education at New York State Teachers College. Only the second black to attend the college, he graduated summa cum laude with degrees in history and English. In 1939, he received his master’s degree in teaching from the University of New York at Albany.

At the age of 19, Irvis began his teaching career in the Baltimore public schools. During World War II, his teaching was interrupted to serve as Civilian Attaché to the War Department where he taught aircraft riveting.

In 1945, Irvis moved to Pittsburgh to direct public relations for the Urban League. Later, he worked as a steel chipper for Crucible Steel and news commentator and writer for the Pittsburgh Courier radio station. He also pursued various business ventures such as operating a toy manufacturing company. As an active community leader in Pittsburgh, Irvis organized the first demonstration against downtown department stores for their discriminatory hiring practices against blacks.

Irvis entered the University of Pittsburgh Law School in 1951. After graduation, Irvis served as a law clerk and in 1957 he became the first black in Allegheny County to be appointed Assistant District Attorney. Irvis later entered private practice and argued cases in federal, district and commonwealth courts.

In 1959, K. Leroy Irvis began a distinguished political career when he took the oath of office for State Representative for Pittsburgh’s 19th Legislative District. Irvis represented Pittsburgh’s Hill District for 15 consecutive terms until his retirement in 1988....read more from wwwpahouse.com

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Former PA Speaker of the House
K. Leroy Irvis dies

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - K. Leroy Irvis, the only Black to serve as speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, died Thursday morning.

Irvis, a Democrat, served in the House of Representatives from 1959 to 1988, and was elected speaker four times. He died at a hospice in Pittsburgh after battling cancer, said House Parliamentarian Clancy Myer.

State House records indicate Irvis was 86, but Myer said he may have been 89.

"I guess he was never certain how old he was, but we have him officially listed on all our documents as Dec. 27, 1919," Myer said.

Irvis was born in Saugerties, N.Y., attended high school and college in New York state, and graduated from the University of Pittsburgh Law School, according to a 1998 biography published by the House...read The New Pgh Courier.

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