A memorial service will be held on Saturday, May 30 in Detroit for retired Michigan Court of Appeals Judge Harold Hood, who died May 5 at the age of 84.
A Hamtramck native, Hood earned his undergraduate degree at the University of Michigan before joining the Army and serving in Korea. Upon his discharge from the Army, he attended law school at Wayne State University and graduated at the top six percent of his class.
After establishing his own firm, he began his first role in public service as assistant corporation counsel for the city of Detroit in 1961.
Eight years later, Hood was appointed the first African American to serve as chief assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan.
Hood’s judicial career began with an appointment to the Common Pleas Court for the city of Detroit in 1973. His years of service on the bench included tenures with Detroit Recorder’s Court, Wayne County Circuit Court and the Michigan Court of Appeals, to which his was appointed in 1982.
He retired in 2003 as the court’s chief judge pro tem.
In 1987, Hood was appointed to chair of the Supreme Court Task Force on Racial and Ethnic Issues in the Courts. The panel issued a report with 122 recommendations to improve the state’s legal system by eliminating bias and discrimination.
From 1997-2002, Hood partnered with the Supreme Court Justice Marilyn Kelly as co-chairs of the State Bar, Michigan’s Open Justice Commission, charged with implementing the task force’s recommendations.
Additionally, Hood has served as a board member and chair of the Ecumenical Theological Seminary, a member and past president of the Old Newsboys Goodfellows Fund of Detroit, and he served on the Advisory Commission of the Nationals Institute on Alcoholism and Addictions.
Hood was honored with the 2013 Dennis W. Archer Award for Public Service and was the recipient of the Founders Award from the National Consortium on Racial and Ethnic Fairness in 2011.
Hood was honored with the State Bar of Michigan Champion of Justice Award in 1990 and the Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame Phillip A. Hart Award in 1991.
Hood is survived by his wife, the Rev. Dr. Lottie Jones Hood; children Harold K. Hood, Kenneth L. Hood, Kevin J. Hood and Karen T. Hood; sister, Gloria Lewis; brother, James Buford; nieces and nephews.
The May 30 memorial service at Hartford Memorial Baptist Church is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m.; the church is located at 18700 James Couzens Hwy.
The family hour will begin at 9 a.m.
For additional information, contact the Swanson Funeral Home at 313.923.1122 or 313.272.9000.
Memorial Contributions can be made to Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Scholarship Fund in c/o Kevin Hood, 300 River Front Drive, Ste. 23K, Detroit, MI 48226.
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