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Bertram M. Lee, Sr. A Life Well Lived
The reach of his generous spirit, his devotion to political
empowerment, and Bertram M. Lee's love for people, spanned
the African Diaspora. A warrior to the end, Bertram M. Lee,
Sr., passed away at his home in Washington, DC on Tuesday,
October 7, 2003, following a lengthy illness. He was 64 years
old.
 Bertram,
one of four children, was born in Lynchburg, Virginia on January
21, 1939 to the late William T. Lee, Sr. and Helen Harris
Lee. He grew up and graduated from public high school in Lynchburg.
After gradation, Bertram moved to Illinois to attend North
Central College in Naperville, Illinois, where he met and
married his first wife, Edith Spurlock. They lived in Chicago
until 1968, where his eldest daughter Paula was born. The
Lee family subsequently moved to Boston, where their younger
daughter Elaine was born. After Edith's death in 1983, Bertram
remained in Boston until the late 1980s, when he returned
to Chicago. He married Laura Murphy in 1989 and following
the birth of their son, Bertram, Jr., they moved to Washington,
DC, where Bertram Sr. lived until his death.
In Boston, Bertram gained national renown as a trailblazing
entrepreneur and philanthropist. He refused to be limited
by the prevailing expectations of Black businessmen. In implementing
his vision for the development of large, sophisticated African-American
firms, he vastly expanded opportunities for Black entrepreneurs
and executives in the media and telecommunications industries.
After serving in various capacities in the public and private
sectors, Bertram became the lead investor and president of
the Dudley Station Corporation. Through this company, Bertram
waged the battle for minority ownership of major media properties.
This battle was won in 1982, when New England Television Corporation,
a minority-led consortium, acquired WNEV-TV, Boston's CBS
affiliate. Bertram served as President of New England Television
Corporation from 1982-1986. Under his tutelage, both the value
of the station and its journalistic quality increased. He
was President of Albimar Communications, the owner of a chain
of radio stations in Nebraska, Utah and Washington, DC, including
WKYS. Bertram was also the President of Kellee Communications,
Inc., a mission-wide telecommunications company.
In 1989, he and Peter Bynoe became co-owners and managing
partners of the Denver Nuggets, the first minority owners
of a major league sports franchise. Bertram was also Chairman
of the Board of Directors of Boston Bank of Commerce, and
a member of the Board of Directors of Shawmut Bank and Reebok
International, Inc. Through these endeavors, Bertram expanded
existing boundaries and took full advantage of all opportunities,
particularly those traditionally closed to African-Americans.
Although his skills as an entrepreneur were legendary, Bertram's
true passion was the empowerment of the African-American community
through expanded economic development and political power.
The was committed both systemically and personally to supporting
this development. From 1967-68, he was Executive Director
of the Opportunities Industrialization Centers founded by
the TransAfrica Forum. Bertram served on the boards of directors
of numerous civic and nonprofit organization, including the
Martin Luther King Center for Nonviolent Social Change; the
Jackie Robinson Foundation, the Congressional Black Caucus
Foundation; Howard University; the Joint Center for Political
and Economic Studies; and the National Association for Sickle
Cell Disease, Inc.
However, Bertram did not rely on board-level involvement
to impact his community. Bertram worked constantly to ensure
the success of the next generation of African-Americans by
providing numerous young professionals with guidance, counsel,
resources and access to his professional network.
His belief in the importance of political power was apparent
through his ongoing political commitments. He was an active
fundraiser for numerous campaigns, including those of former
Mayor David Dinkins of New York, former Mayor Thomas Bradley
of Los Angeles and former Governor Douglas Wilder of Virginia.
He served as co-chairman of Reverend Jesse Jackson's presidential
campaign finance committee in 1984 and 1988. He was an organizer
of the "Democracy Now Tour", in which Nelson Mandela
toured the U.S. to raise funds for voter registration and
education in South Africa. He continued these efforts through
his work for and support of the Fund for a Free South Africa.
Bertram grew up in the church, but found his true church
home at Metropolitan Baptist Church, where he worshipped for
thirteen years. He truly loved his Metropolitan Church family
and particularly its music ministry. He was a founding board
members of the Metropolitan Community Development Corporation
and participated on several of its committees.
For his work and commitment, Bertram received numerous awards,
including the NAACP Image Award (1982), the American Heritage
and Freedom Award (1983) and Howard University's Salute to
Blacks in Business (1990).
Bertram is survived by his children, Paula, Elaine and Bertram
Jr.; sister Yvonne, brothers William and John; numerous nieces
and nephews and a host of devoted friends who will miss him
greatly.
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