Keith N. Hamilton
Keith N. Hamilton is an African American who was formerly chair of the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole. In that capacity he was the first African American to serve in the Cabinet of the State of Utah.
Hamilton was born in Virginia and raised primarily in New Jersey and North Carolina. His grandfather was a Southern Baptist preacher.[1]
Hamilton joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1980 while a student at North Carolina State University. He served as a missionary in the Puerto Rico San Juan Mission, which covered Puerto Rico and the Lesser Antilles at the time. He earned a law degree from the J. Reuben Clark Law School of Brigham Young University, being the first African American to graduate from that institution.[1]
After graduating, Hamilton served for several years in the United States Navy in the Judge Advocate General's Corps. He has worked in administrative positions at Brigham Young University and the University of Massachusetts Amherst
Hamilton served from 1995 to 2003 and 2005 to 2009 on the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole, including as chair from March 2006 until May 2007, a position which made him a member of the Utah Governor's Cabinet.[1][2]
Hamilton served for a time as a bishop in San Francisco.
He has written an autobiography entitled Last Laborer: Thoughts and Reflections of a Black Mormon. As of the summer of 2011 he works as an adjunct professor of law at the J. Reuben Clark Law School and is a columnist for the Deseret News.
References
- 1 2 3 "Parole boss has sense of mission", by Stephen Hunt, The Salt Lake Tribune, March 20, 2006. Retrieved 2011-08-16.
- ↑ "Hamilton resigning from parole board", by Geoff Liesik, Sept. 29, 2009, Deseret News. Retrieved 2011-08-16.
- Black LDS article on Hamilton
- Deseret News April 21, 2011 article on Keith Hamilton
- Deseret News Sep. 29, 2009 article on Hamilton's service on the Utah Parole Board
- Salt Lake Tribune June 9, 2011