Imagine this. You are asked to speak at a gathering on behalf of your client. During your presentation, people who disagree with your legal position detonate a bomb under your car. Later, after returning home, these same people explode a bomb in your home and the homes of your co-counsel. Later yet, your law office is firebombed. Yet, despite these threats, you continue your fight because you believe in the cause. Sounds a little like a John Grisham novel, doesn’t it? This actually happened to one of the most influential and revered members of our Bar – Julius Chambers – during his never-ending fight for racial equality.
Many of us know the story of Mr. Chambers, but I suspect many of the less-seasoned attorneys may not. Mr. Chambers was born in rural Montgomery County in North Carolina in 1936. His father was a mechanic. After working on a farmer's tractor, the farmer refused to pay his father. Julius’ dad could find no North Carolina attorney that would represent him against an affluent white man. Later in life, Julius would recount this story as his motivation to fight racial injustice.
Julius Chambers graduated from high school in 1954, ironically the same year as the groundbreaking decision of Brown v. Board of Education. After high school, he attended North Carolina Central University, where he graduated summa cum laude. After his undergraduate degree and later a graduate degree in history from the University of Michigan, he enrolled at UNC-Chapel Hill Law School, where he became the first African-American editor-in-chief of the law review. He graduated first in his class in 1962.
Julius moved to Charlotte and eventually opened the first integrated law firm in North Carolina. Although an accomplished author, educator and ambassador, locally he is probably best known for his advocacy in the U.S. Supreme Court case of Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education (1971), which led to the desegregation of our public schools. It was during this case that Julius’ home was bombed. Julius Chambers championed causes before the United States Supreme Court eight times and won all eight cases.
I was reminded of Mr. Chambers’ incredible legacy when I was privileged to recently attend the unveiling of his statue as the newest installment on the Charlotte Trail of History, which runs. along the Little Sugar Creek Greenway in midtown Charlotte. The bronze statue depicting Chambers is located at the main fountain in the section of the greenway off South Kings Drive. Every citizen, and certainly every attorney, should visit his sculpture and pause to marvel at the accomplishments of this great American.
I am, unfortunately, old enough to remember riding in a car as a young boy through rural South Carolina and seeing segregated bathrooms and water fountains at gas stations. I cannot unsee or forget those terrible images. I am so grateful to Julius Chambers and for those who carry on his legacy in the fight for equality.
The Julius L. Chambers Diversity Champion Award is presented each year by the Mecklenburg County Bar through its Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee. Its purpose is to recognize an attorney who champions diversity and inclusion in Mecklenburg County while embodying high ethical standards, unquestioned integrity and consistent competence. The 2022 award recipient will be honored at the upcoming Judge James B. McMillan Fellowship Event in February 2022.
A list of the previous Julius L. Chambers Diversity Champion Award winners includes:
Julius L. Chambers - 2008
George V. Hanna III - 2009
Judge Clifton E. Johnson - 2010
James E. Ferguson II - 2011
Judge Rickye McKoy-Mitchell - 2012
Georgia J. Lewis - 2013
Elisa Chinn-Gary - 2014
Robert E. Harrington - 2015
Connie J. Vetter - 2016
Valecia M. McDowell - 2017
Judge Albert Diaz - 2018
Judge Carla Archie - 2019
Judge Jane Harper – 2020
J. Charles Jones - 2021
How very proud I am of these leaders upon whose shoulders’ others will surely stand.
I once heard someone define diversity, inclusion and equity this way, “Diversity is being asked to the dance. Inclusion is being asked to dance. Equity is how much space you get on the dance floor.” May we all follow Mr. Chambers’ example and work to ensure everyone has a space on the dance floor.
Mr. Chambers died in 2013. He was 76.