2023 Regular Session ENROLLED
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 39
BY SENATOR BOUDREAUX AND REPRESENTATI VE DUSTIN MILLER
A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
To express the sincere and heartfelt condolences of the Legislature of Louisiana upon the
passing of Ambassador James Alfred Joseph.
WHEREAS, James A. Joseph, beloved husband, father, grandfather, and public
servant was born on March 12, 1935, in Plaisance and grew up in Opelousas, Louisiana; and
WHEREAS, Ambassador Joseph lived an inspirational American life dedicated to
service, faith, and the fight for equality and social justice; and
WHEREAS, Ambassador Joseph rose to the heights of achievement and
contributions in academia, public service, civil society, and the private sector; and
WHEREAS, Ambassador Joseph served in senior executive or advisory positions for
four U.S. Presidents, including presidents Carter, Clinton, Reagan, and H.W. Bush; and
WHEREAS, Ambassador Joseph was the only U.S. Ambassador to present his
credentials to President Nelson Mandela, and was awarded the Order of Good Hope by the
Republic of South Africa in 1999, their highest honor bestowed on a citizen of another
country; and
WHEREAS, Ambassador Joseph served as President and Chief Executive Officer
of the Council on Foundations, an international organization of more than 2,000 foundations
and corporate giving programs, which changed communities and lives on five continents;
and
WHEREAS, Ambassador Joseph served as Vice President of Cummins Engine
Company, the world's largest producer of heavy-duty diesel engines where he was a pioneer
in corporate social responsibility; and
WHEREAS, as an ordained minister, Ambassador Joseph taught at Yale Divinity
School and the Claremont Colleges where he also was University Chaplain and led student
protests against the war in Vietnam; and
WHEREAS, Ambassador Joseph was professor emeritus of the practice of public
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policy at the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University and founder of the United
States-Southern Africa Center for Leadership and Public Values, a joint endeavor between
Duke University and the University of Cape Town; and
WHEREAS, Ambassador Joseph graduated from Southern University in 1956 and
obtained a master's degree from Yale Divinity School in 1963; and
WHEREAS, after hurricanes Rita and Katrina decimated south Louisiana, Governor
Kathleen Blanco named him Chair of the Board of Directors of the Foundation for Louisiana
(formerly the Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation); and
WHEREAS, he was honored as a Louisiana Legend in 2006, was inducted into the
Louisiana Political Hall of Fame in 2008, and is a member of the Opelousas Hall of Fame;
and
WHEREAS, Ambassador Joseph authored four books: The Charitable Impulse;
Remaking-America; Leadership as a Way of Being; and Saved for a Purpose: A Journey
from Private Virtues to Public Values; and
WHEREAS, Ambassador Joseph is the recipient of nineteen honorary degrees and
a member of the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity and Sigma Pi Phi; and
WHEREAS, Ambassador Joseph is mourned by his loving wife, the former Mary
Braxton of Sarasota, Florida - an Emmy Award winning television journalist; his son Jeffery
and daughter-in-law Lisa Merman; daughter Denise, and his beloved nieces and nephews;
and
WHEREAS, he was preceded in death by his parents Adam and Julia Joseph, as well
as Doris Taylor Joseph, his wife of 33 years, and his brother John who was elected as the
first Black mayor of Opelousas, Louisiana, in 1986; and
WHEREAS, a memorial service was held for Ambassador Joseph at the National
Cathedral in Washington, D.C. on April 25, 2023; and
WHEREAS, it is with great sadness that the passing of Ambassador James A. Joseph,
beloved husband, father, grandfather, and public servant is acknowledged.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
express sincere and heartfelt condolences to the family of Ambassador James Alfred Joseph
upon the occasion of his passing, a great loss to the state and citizens of Louisiana.
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BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to his
wife, Mary Braxton and his children, Jeffery and Denise.
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
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