Al Vreeland, lawyer and social activist, dead at 78

[Syrinx]

TUSCALOOSA | Al Vreeland, a retired Tuscaloosa lawyer known for compassion and activism, died Tuesday, just two months after he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He was 78.

Vreeland was known in Tuscaloosa for promoting better legal representation for the underprivileged.

He worked with various social programs dealing with alcohol abuse, prison reform and training for disadvantaged children and people with mental retardation.

The younger Vreeland related a story about a trip to Mobile in the late 1950s told by his older sister while the six siblings were reminiscing about their father. Vreeland was a guest pastor at a church there, and he gave a sermon encouraging racial equality. “She remembers being yanked out of someone’s front yard and told they had to get out of there because the Klan was after them," he said. “He preached it when it was controversial and unpopular in some places," Al Vreeland II said. “That was the beginning of his social activism."

http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20070309/NEWS/703110334/1007/NEWS02

[peacebaby3]

1. Rest in Peace, Al. We were blessed to have you for 78 years. n/t

[Syrinx]

2. thanks for wishing Al well!

He's done a lot for Tuscaloosa, and our people.

:thumbsup: