In the early 1970s Thelton was on the law faculty at Stanford, when I was on the Berkeley faculty of Letters and Science. Each was one of the only African Americans in the professoriate at our respective institutions, and we have always compared notes about that particular aspect of the social worlds that we inhabit. It was not uncommon for students to knock on his door, walk in, and ask "Is Professor Henderson here?" The same happened to me, and in our own choreographed way, we would compete with one another as to who could come up with the best and swiftest comeback. Thelton won, hands down. One day, after he had become an assistant dean at the law school in Stanford, a newly arrived student successfully made it past the inner screening of an administrative assistant, who said, "You may see the dean now." The student walked into the vast inner office, saw Thelton alone at his desk, paused, and asked, "Is Dean Henderson here?" Thelton peered slowly at him over his glasses, and told the student to have a seat, and said matter-of-factly, "Dean Henderson will be with you shortly." Thelton returned to his work, completed another five minutes of what he was doing, then looked up and said, "Dean Henderson is here now." In this little vignette, one can discern the interlacing of wit and humor with a latent but fierce tone of serious purpose. It was an "ordinary moment" in some ways, but that moment surely seared itself into the student's experience. Extraordinary people can make ordinary moments memorable.

At a personal level, Thelton is easygoing, affable, flexible, congenial, and possessed of a laugh that is so infectious and so deeply resonant that those within range find themselves smiling. To this add a mischievous teasing style, somewhat in the tradition of Shakespeare's version of Falstaff. Even when Falstaff was seemingly bested by his peers in some sparring verbal one-upsmanship, he was always able to find his way back on top with a cleverly humorous turn of a phrase or frame. The affability and flexibility are real, wide-ranging, even characterological. But when he has extended himself, and an attorney in his courtroom crosses a line, the fiercely uncompromising part emerges, a stony steel-like resolve catches many a foe off guard and can become a newsworthy event.

It is the quiet determination that is most notable. Because he is so willing to let others take the stage and dominate a conversation, a dinner party, or a seminar, those who meet Thelton for the first time are often surprised at the clarity and strength of his convictions when he finally gives voice to them. In [his] history, the reader will find a healthy counter-balance to the media portrayal of Thelton Henderson as controversial. It will become clear that it was not that Thelton chose to do battle. Rather, it is almost always the case that Thelton chose to do the right thing, remained steadfast and unwavering, and the battle was joined by those who objected.

—Troy Duster

The way I got my name, my mother was in the hospital waiting to give birth. I was scheduled to be Eugene, named after my father, Eugene or Gene, Junior. Somewhere in the process the nurse, who was a white nurse and that's relevant to this story, said something to the effect, "Gee, I think Thelton is a pretty name." And my mother, as she tells it, in those days certainly, they got shots or some sorts of medication to help the process and she was sort of in that state and said, "Oh, gee, Thelton is pretty" and named me Thelton on the spot.

We came [to California] with all the worldly possessions. I like to refer to it as Joad-style, like the Joads in The Grapes of Wrath.... We came by truck and settled in on—first house we lived in was on 53rd Street. Everyone lived there.

Mike Marionthall ... was a tough ex-marine who was an All-American guard at UCLA, lost his leg in the war. Came back, got out, wooden leg. Not wooden, but a prosthetic, I guess you would call it. And came to teach and coach at Jefferson High, an all-black school with a bunch of tough kids. Discipline problems. And past coaches, they just got overwhelmed by it.... Mike wasn't that kind of guy. I think, having been wounded in the war, he had a different view and he wasn't taking any of that crap. And he shaped us up. Some of the tough guys on the team that were trying to do numbers on him, he'd say, "Sit your butt down." And nobody took him on. So, we had a great football team just when I came along. And that helped me get my scholarship to Cal. I think that made all the difference in the world.... All I knew about Cal was that they had a good football team in those days.... I had not the foggiest idea that it was an excellent academic institution.

Berkeley, you know, is known as the liberal bastion now, but it wasn't that liberal then, in terms of housing.... Even in subsequent years, when I played baseball—became really good friends with one of the white baseball players and we were going to be roommates. We went around looking for places, and they wouldn't rent to us. We ended up not being roommates...I think that the athletic department found this owner that would accept blacks and that's where we all went.

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