In his recent passing, Norman S. Early, Jr., SPA/BA ’67, leaves a legacy of leadership and service that spans several decades and broke countless barriers. Colorado’s first Black district attorney, Early began a lengthy career as a pioneer of crime victims’ rights at AU.

After his graduation from DC’s Coolidge High School, he started his journey at AU as a government major and student athlete in an era of social change. The first Black president of AU’s student government, Early won election in 1966  in the first contest to draw votes from a majority of the student body. With 52 percent of the vote, he called for an what he called “status quo” government, and he reorganized representation in student government based on school of enrollment and area of residence.

“I always had the feeling that I could do something as well as or better than the next person,” Early said in a 2018 interview with American magazine. “I enjoyed doing my best with and for other people. By having an African American in that position [for the first time], things that I thought were detrimental to student life were starting to be changed.”

Alongside his political pursuits, Early was a member of AU’s track team and served as president of his sophomore class. Early credits Zeta Beta Tau – a mostly white and Jewish fraternity that allowed him to pledge after another fraternity denied him membership because of his race – as his support system during his time at AU. He attended ZBT events nearly every year until his passing.

After graduating from AU, Early earned a law degree from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where he was awarded a fellowship to assist underprivileged communities. This work brought him to Denver, the community he sought to improve for the rest of his life. He spent 10 years as chief deputy district attorney in Denver before being appointed district attorney in 1983 – a barrier-breaking accomplishment for Black politicians in his time.

But Early’s work was far from finished. As president of the National Organization for Victim Assistance, he became a leading advocate for victims’ rights. He earned awards from the Justice Department and the National Commission Against Drunk Driving, and he earned an Ending Violence Effectively award for helping survivors of sexual abuse. He also founded the National Black Prosecutors Association and the Sam Cary Bar Association, two organizations dedicated to the success of Black lawyers.

After a closely contested loss in the race to become Denver’s first Black mayor in 1991, he was offered a position at the U.S. Justice Department but turned it down to continue his work in Denver.

Early’s efforts to better the lives of victims and uplift Black professionals in the Denver community continue to leave an impact, his friends and family say. Awarded 2007 Father of the Year by the Father’s Day Council, his loved ones say he had a deep compassion for his family and community.

“I always had a group of individuals who were close to me,” he said in 2017. “I think that’s something that’s very much needed.”