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After ‘31 Golden Years,’ He’s Saying Goodbye
Despite stepping down from post, Clegg says he’ll remain a force in the community

Former City Atty. Legrand Clegg has a good laugh Tuesday, Aug. 5 after the City Council and city employees presented him with a rocking chair as a playful joke in honor of Clegg’s retirement. His last day at work was Thursday, Aug. 7. —Photo by Ms. Shon of D’Angelos

By Allison Jean Eaton
Bulletin Staff Writer

COMPTON – It was quite the auspicious occasion last Tuesday as the City Council rose from its typical August darkness to hold a special council meeting to bid proper farewell to longtime City Atty. Legrand Clegg II.

Following the official announcement that Clegg was tendering his resignation in order to retire effective Aug. 8, the many family, friends, fellow dignitaries and colleagues from past and present that packed the Council Chambers Aug. 5 lauded and honored Clegg, who came on board with the city in 1977.

The Council and city employees playfully presented Clegg with a rocking chair following his reading of his letter of resignation at the start of the meeting, and the well-respected historian and holistic-medicine enthusiast sat in the chair as more than 30 people queued up to speak in his honor and present him with gifts and accolades. The procession lasted more than two hours and was nearly like an episode of “Legrand Clegg, This is Your Life.”

“I couldn’t believe it,” Clegg told The Bulletin the following day in an exclusive interview. “I was so humbled and so surprised.”

Indeed, the event seemed like a funeral in the way folks from different periods in the now former city attorney’s life spoke of and praised a man they whole-heartedly described as a dynamic and God-fearing vessel of action, compassion and intelligence.

For Clegg was not just Compton’s city attorney. He has long been a respected author, researcher, community activist and supporter of education, especially in the areas of what mainstream society often deems unacceptable, including Afrocentric history and holistic medicine. He is respected worldwide as an authority on African and African-American history.

Born in Los Angeles, Clegg was the first of six children and was raised here in the Hub City. He graduated from Centennial High School and went on to receive an associate degree from Compton College, a bachelor’s degree from UCLA and a law degree from the Howard University School of Law.

The time he spent at Howard left an indelible mark on Clegg, who said he was raised in the spirit of public service and giving.

It was during that time that he met Thurgood Marshall, who would eventually become the first African-American Supreme Court Justice, and Patricia Roberts-Harris – attorneys who would work on the team of lawyers who successfully argued the monumental Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka case. Both were classmates of Clegg’s at the historically black college.

“Those were just momentous times,” he said.

It was not until his later years in high school that Clegg even pondered pursuing a career in law. And he owes it all to a former school counselor who steered him in the direction of becoming an attorney.

Those were the days of the Civil Rights Movement, and Brothers and Sisters well versed in the law were in major demand in the move to ensure equal rights were spread to all.

After graduating college and passing the bar, Clegg worked for legal aid at the Greater Watts Justice Center before venturing into a private practice with the firm of Edelen, Meshack, Clegg & Calhoun in 1974. He also served as co-counsel for the Compton Unified School District from 1976 to 1977.

It was his passion for researching, writing and sharing with the world the true story of Africans and those far removed from their homeland via the African Diaspora that catalyzed his decision to take a job with the City Attorney’s office in 1977, where he was appointed deputy city attorney that same year.

In 1981 he was appointed chief deputy city attorney, a capacity in which he served through 1993, when he was appointed city attorney following the death of then City Attorney Wesley Fenderson Jr. In 1995 he was elected to the seat and was re-elected two more times, for a total of four four-year terms.

During the years of 1981 through 1993, he served on the Compton Community College District Board of Trustees.

Clegg’s interest in Black studies and history was sparked at the age of 19, when a fellow classmate at Compton College shared with him the third volume of J.A. Roger’s seminal Sex and Race series.

“I’ve been hooked on it ever since,” Clegg said. “I realized I had to change the world view of the history of people of African descent.”

He published his first booklet and video in 1991, after periodically working on the project for over 23 years. That has now evolved into the Clegg Series, a series of videos, audio tapes, study guides and a Website that detail the true history of Africans. The booklets include When Black Men Ruled The World and Daughters of Isis.

For Clegg, the push to spread the truth about people of African descent, and to dispel the notion that they are lesser, is a driving passion.

“Unfortunately, because of ignorance, they (people throughout the world) view black people all around the world as subhuman or inferior,” Clegg said. “In spite our experience as a people . . . my parents instilled in us to not hate others. You know, they’re just uninformed. So you try to put your best foot forward, try to treat people right. When they’re wrong, you present it to them, but you’re not combative. . . . In other words, you have to rise above what they’ve done to you.”

It was in 1989 that Clegg first delved into the world of holistic medicine.

“Holistic health has been a mainstay ever since,” he said.

In 2004, he launched his cable TV show, “The New Compton,” as a means to spread information about alternative cancer cures. Today the show continues to air every other week and features topics and guests that have a stake in the greater Compton community.

Throughout his years as city attorney, Clegg said the most difficult point in time was the decision to disband the Compton Police Department in 2001.

“To me, that was the most trying time,” he said.

Additionally, the trials of the former city manager, former mayor and three council members, two of whom were acquitted, for mismanagement of public funds took its toll on the office, which drew public criticism for retaining outside counsel to defend those accused.

One of Clegg’s proudest accomplishments is the closure of Boulevard Sales and Services, a Long Beach Boulevard gun shop that was busted by federal, state and local authorities for funneling weapons into the hands of convicted felons and gang members.

“All over America you have a lot of crime caused by the violent use of guns,” he said. “Your poorer communities will experience the greatest impact because of the availability of guns. To be able to do that in a city where gun violence is widespread, that was a major achievement.”

Clegg said the community should not fear his departure – he will still be around fighting for justice and equality for all. The top aims on his list, he said last Tuesday night, include traveling, writing, working to restore accreditation at Compton College and prison reform, among a host of other ventures.

After “31 golden years” of working for the city of Compton, Clegg said he is brimming with thanks for the citizens who re-elected him and provided him with an opportunity to serve.

“It’s an extraordinary privilege to grow up in a community and then return to serve the people who are responsible for your education and nurturance,” he said .