Of Counsel Magazibe Volume 22/Spring 2021 by North Carolina Central University

of COUNSEL

n o r t h c a r o l i n a c e n t r a l u n i v e r s i t y s c h o o l o f l aw

VOLUME 22 • SPRING 2021

Education Segregation Poverty

INSTITUTIONAL RACISM

POLICE BRUTALITY

M AG A Z I N E

Invest in Schools

PAY LIVING WAGES

REPARATIONS

George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2020

Table of Contents Articles

Dean: Browne C. Lewis Associate Dean of Administration & External Relations (Development Office): Marsetta Lee Editor: Jan Buckner Walker KAPD, Inc.

Message from the Dean

Technology Initiative — Associate Dean of Technology and the Law April G. Dawson

NCCU School of Law Alumnus’ Eyewitness Account of the Development of a COVID-19 Product — Emily Hales

To Patent and Serve — Kia C. Bell

Alumni Highlight: Sheila R. Spence

Interview: Professor Cheryl Amana Burris & Attorney John L. Burris

Transition in Chaos — Chip Baggett ‘16

Tribal Governance in the Midst of the “Storm” — Joshua Richardson ’20

50 Dr. Brenda R. Shaw — The Title III Program and its Impact on the NCCU School of Law

Eagle Soars: Fenita Morris - Shepard Named Chief Legal Counsel of NCCU

Legal Eagles Soaring

COVID-19, Ethics, and The Law — Sheila M. Parrish-Spence

A Change of Perspective — Alexis Murray, SBA President

NCCU School of Law Moot Court 2021: A Spring Competition Season Like No Other — Professor Shelly DeAdder

Reflections on the Adoption Law Moot Court Competition Capital University Child Welfare — Courtney Brown, 3L

Editorial Assistance: Karuna Rekhraj

20 “Bloody Sunday” History, Legacy and Continuing Need — Professor Irving L. Joyner

Design and Illustration: Progressive Business Solutions

Photographer: Elias Brown Chioke D. Brown

International Commission of Inquiry on Systemic Racist Police Violence Against People of African Descent in the United States — Kyle Hamilton Brazile

Continuation of Interview: Professor Cheryl Amana Burris & Attorney John L. Burris

Printer: Progressive Business Solutions

Faculty News

The NCCU School of Law publishes the Of Counsel Magazine. This Publication is supported by the Title III Program. Approximately 3250 copies of this issue were printed at the cost of $5.08 each. Address: North Carolina Central University School of Law 640 Nelson Street Durham, North Carolina 27707 Email: ncculawdevelopment@nccu.edu

42 Teaching Outside of the (Classroom) Box: Lessons Learned While Teaching Remotely During the COVID-19 Pandemic — Professor Kia H. Vernon

Charles Houston Endowed Chair — Professor Irving L. Joyner

John D. Fassett Professorship Endowed Chair — Dr. Malik Edwards

30 RJR Nabisco Endowed Chair — Professor Reginald Mombrun

Historical Perspective 31

NCCU School of Law’s First Marketing Campaign — Mitzi Townes

Race and Place: The Upbuilding of Hayti and Black Wall Street — Andre D. Vann

Academic Success 40 NCCU School of Law’s Legal Pipeline Programs: Increasing Diversity of the Legal Profession One Student at A Time — Associate Dean Angela A. Gilmore

44 NCCU School of Law’s Summer Start Initiative: Five Weeks Impact Student Success - Professors Kia H. Vernon, Dorothy D. Nachman, & Donald W. Corbett 47

Eagle Soars: India Y. Ali ‘13

Student-Centered Support 48 Sharon N. Gaskin — An Admissions Adventure

54 NCCU Law School Trio Provides a Play-by-Play Account of an NFL Experience of a Lifetime — Daniel Adams, Sorrell Saunders & Julian Cuthbertson

Spotlight on Alumni 56 From Humble Beginnings to Entrepreneurial Heights: The Story of David Lee Cook, III ‘81 57

Alumni Mock Interview Program Launched February 2021

Incubating Legal Practices for Justice: The Durham Opportunity and Justice Incubator — Mark Atkinson ‘20

60 NCCU Law School Alumnus Patrick Hannah Heads the Corporate Roundtable for the National Caucus of State Legislators and Raleigh Durham Airport Authority 62

Meet Preston Mitchum ‘11

63 Why I Support HBCUs — Frank S. Turner 64 Memorials 65 Dean’s Note NCCU School of Law Donors

Tribute to Congressman John Lewis

Message from the Dean I am a proud graduate of Grambling State University. Before being named dean of North Carolina Central University School of Law (the “Law School”), my only connection to the school was watching the Eagles play my Tigers in the Celebration Bowl. Being appointed as the dean of one of the six HBCU law schools was a dream come true for me. Deaning in the Age of Coronavirus has been challenging. I have dealt with what I call “the four Ps” – pandemic, police misconduct, protests, and political upheaval. That said, I have been heartened by three more. BROWNE C. LEWIS

The Four Ps COVID caused us to change the way that we deliver legal education and the manner in which we interact with one another. It has been especially taxing for our first year students. Most of those students were forced to finish their college journey online and to start law school remotely. All of our students had to endure a compressed fall semester and a spring semester without the benefit of spring break. Through it all, the faculty and staff came together to ensure that the nest was protected and that our legal eagles had everything they needed to take flight. Our alumni offered our students financial support, mentorship, and employment opportunities.

DEAN NCCU School of Law

The punches kept coming and the pain was exacerbated by the police killings of unarmed Black people. The deaths of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and George Floyd were like an unholy trinity that crashed down on young people who were already reeling from the impact of a global pandemic. During that time, the only support we could give our students was empathy. We acknowledged their hurt and let them know that we were also in pain. I watched as deans of other law schools issued statements condemning the police killings. As the dean of a law school created to foster segregation and commissioned to educate African Americans, I felt that issuing a statement denouncing systemic racism would be an inadequate gesture. Instead, I worked with our faculty to create the Social Justice and Racial Equity Initiative (SJREI). SJREI is designed to explore ways to address issues of injustice and racism that go beyond the criminal justice system. Like many young people across the country, our students joined the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement to protest racial injustice in this country. My maternal instinct kicked in and I cautioned our students to wear their masks, practice social distancing and do other things to stay safe when they participated in the protests. However, I did not do anything to discourage them from engaging in peaceful protests. After being isolated from each other because of the global pandemic, the students used the protests as opportunities to come together for an important purpose. Their willingness to be advocates for the voiceless made me proud. The faculty and I teach our students that they can make a difference because Black lawyers matter.

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The presidential election presented a panacea and a problem for our students. The elation of watching Attorney Kamala Harris, a fellow HBCU graduate and woman of color, become the vice president of the United States was dampened by the insurrection at the United States Capitol building. The former demonstrated how far we have come with regard to race relations and the latter illustrated how far we still have to go. It was necessary to pull back the layers of hatred and discontent that led to the insurgency so we could use this as a teachable moment for our students. We highlighted the need for lawyers to stand up and protect the rule of law. We let our students know that a peaceful transition of power could not have been possible without lawyers. The Three Ps During my first year as dean, the four Ps caused me to grind my teeth, toss in my sleep, and pull out my hair. Nevertheless, my saving grace has been the three Ps of pride, passion, and promise. The legal eagles have made us proud this year. They won mock trial competitions, excelled academically, and helped the less fortunate by participating in our pro bono program and our clinics. Regardless of what is happening in the world, I feel at peace when I walk into the law school building and see our legal eagles at work. My passion for the law and for my people keeps me moving forward. Every day, I see the promise in my faculty, staff and students. The fact that others see that promise gives me hope. For example, Intel Corporation saw enough potential in that they pledged to give us $5 million dollars over the next five years to create a Center for Technology Policy and Law. We are on track to do great things. The one thing that has surprised me about North Carolina is how much it rains. The depression and isolation caused by the four Ps were amplified by the dreary weather. Nonetheless, as the days get longer and the sun shines more, I feel more invigorated. Author Shaun Hick is quoted as saying, “You need to spend time crawling alone through shadows to truly appreciate what it is to stand in the sun.” NCCU School of Law is coming out of the shadows into the sun. Our legal eagles are taking flight and getting ready to soar.

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Technology Initiative BY APRIL G. DAWSON Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and Pedagogical Enrichment

As technology continues to disrupt, influence, and impact the way lawyers practice law and the areas of legal practice, law schools need to more rapidly adjust law school curricula to ensure law students receive the necessary legal tech training. If there had been hesitancy on the part of law schools to offer legal tech courses, the push of technology upon both the legal industry and the legal academy by the global pandemic has made it abundantly clear that law schools must provide legal tech instruction for their students to adequately prepare them for the practice of law. Indeed, if you take even a cursory glance at law schools’ websites, you will see a plethora of law tech courses of one kind or another included in the school’s curriculum. While some law schools have fully developed law tech centers, institutes, and certificate programs, others are in the early stages of planning and development. Currently, there are approximately 30 established law school legal technology centers, and the historic North Carolina Central School of Law is about to join the ranks. One of Dean Lewis’ missions when she took the helm at NCCU Law, was the Center for Technology Law and Policy. To ensure this vital Center would be financially supported and viable, she facilitated the $5 million Intel donation to fund the creation of the Center for Technology Law and Policy. The Center and the development of legal tech curricula at NCCU Law are essential as the on-the-ground realities of the legal profession require lawyers to be more tech-savvy. Factors necessitating increased technical knowledge and instruction include, inter alia: · Ethical tech competency requirements for lawyers · Client demand for more efficient and cost-effective lawyer work · Digitalization of legal services · Emerging tech-related issues in traditional legal fields · New and emerging technology requiring legal advice and expertise · Use of technology by the courts and government agencies

To address the changing legal landscape, the Center for Technology Law and Policy will develop a program designed to: · Prepare students to provide legal advice and expertise relevant to new and emerging technology · Prepare students to use technology to facilitate the efficient, effective, and ethical practice of law · Equip students with the skills to facilitate the development of technology to improve the legal system; and · Increase community access to legal information and services The Center will also support interdisciplinary scholarship and discussions related to technology law, data security, business law, and regulation policy. Policy discussions and engagement will focus on, inter alia, technical racial disparities such as implicit bias and the racial justice implications of using data and predictive analytics in daily life and the criminal justice system. It bears emphasizing that the Center for Technology Law and Policy will operate within NCCU Law, which was founded to provide opportunities for African Americans to become lawyers. It is the mission of NCCU Law to provide high quality, personalized, practice-oriented, and affordable legal education to historically underrepresented students from diverse backgrounds to help diversify the legal profession and to empower graduates to become highly competent and socially responsible lawyers and leaders committed to public service and to meeting the needs of underserved communities. Thus, it is the mission of the Center to produce technology-conscious lawyers who will use technology in alignment with the Law School’s mission to: (1) facilitate the efficient, effective, and ethical practice of law, and (2) increase the access of legal information and services for underserved communities. It is also the Center’s mission to produce diverse technology law experts to serve the changing needs of those seeking legal advice and representation. Finally, it is the mission of the Center to engage in meaningful technologyrelated policy discussions to ensure that technology law, regulations, and implementation do not result in the further marginalization of the African American community, but rather are used to create a more just society.

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NCCU School of Law Alumnus’ Eyewitness Account of the Development of a COVID-19 Product BY EMILY HALES 09’

As the only attorney in the downtown Durham office of Validic, a cloud-based technology company, I was in deep thought when a member of our corporate affairs team approached me. She asked me what the company’s termination rights would be if Validic decided not to attend the largest industry conference of the year. It was late February, and the conference was weeks away. She explained that the company was considering withdrawing from the conference due to COVID-19. At this point, 4

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not many people were talking about COVID-19, and the word “pandemic” had not even crossed my mind. After reviewing the event’s contract, I advised the corporate affairs team of my legal opinion. Ultimately, Validic was one of the first companies to pull out of the event, leading to the withdrawal of many other companies and the conference’s eventual cancellation. Ever since that moment early in 2020, I realized that I am fortunate to work for a company that is forward thinking and truly values its employees. Each day, I have the privilege to work with colleagues developing and enhancing products to enable health organizations to better understand, engage, and manage their populations. I generally spend my days knee-deep reviewing contracts and providing legal analysis, but sometimes my days can take surprising, unexpected turns. One such day, was a day last March, not long after Validic employees had all started working remotely. I

help make the world a safer, healthier place.

knew that the company was working on a COVID-19 product, but I was not clear on how long the development would take to complete. About a week after first hearing of the development, I received the green light to draft the templates for the new product. I was shocked! Generally, products take much longer to develop. Normally, I would expect to hear discussions in meetings for weeks or months prior to receiving a request to develop a template. However, as the country was grieving the loss of many lives to COVID-19, and our health care system had been hit by a global health care crisis, Validic responded by rallying its workforce and producing an innovative solution. Impressively, the Validic team developed its COVID-19 home monitoring solution in just two weeks – a project that would normally take a company four to six months to complete. Using our previous templates as a guideline, I worked with the senior vice presidents of products and technology to draft the documents for the public release. I also worked with the sales team to determine how to make our templates palatable for both new and established clients. Then, I worked with the finance team to include the new pricing model in our templates. I finalized the templates within days so they would be ready in time for Validic’s formal launch of the new product.

In the development of its new home monitoring solution, Validic relied on its core products: a data connectivity platform and a remote monitoring solution. The offerings make personal health data – from consumer health and home-use medical devices – actionable in health care and wellness programs. Human Resource administrators were mobilized to monitor patients or essential employees for symptoms associated with COVID-19 and program administrators were able to enroll thousands of individuals quickly, allowing them to self-report coughing frequency, temperature, difficulty breathing, heart rate, oxygen saturation (SpO2) and other data into a secure web portal. Once entered, the individuals’ home health data is made accessible to clinicians and treatment professionals via a triage dashboard. From the dashboard, the clinician or HR administrator is able to enroll new individuals, set alerts, identify trends quickly, and search the individuals based on the status of their latest reading. The solution also flags when a quarantine has concluded with no symptoms reported. By proactively monitoring for symptoms, individuals are able to seek testing or quarantine sooner, before the symptoms require emergency care. This also helps prevent the further spread of COVID-19. I am fortunate to work at a company that values its employees and prioritized product development during a pandemic in an effort to save lives. Thanks to the development work of my colleagues, when I reflect on my legal work during the pandemic, I will remember that I was able to make a small contribution on a product that saved lives and prevented the further spread of COVID-19.

Although I was drafting templates, which can often be a mundane task for in-house counsel, this specific instance was especially thrilling! I was creating a template for a new product that could potentially save lives and prevent the spread of COVID-19. In those repetitive days – early in the pandemic – which all seemed to run together, we were flooded with news of sickness and fatalities and each employee was being classified as an essential or nonessential employee, I felt like I was doing my small part to

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To Patent and Serve BY KIA C. BELL

Behind every successful creative idea, invention or product is a lawyer working to obtain a patent or trademark. Some of the greatest ideas and items are protected by intellectual property law in some way. Intellectual property – often referred to as IP – is work or inventions created by an individual or organization, including but not limited to digital content, symbols, names, slogans, music and logos. IP law protects and enforces owners’ rights to their creative work. NCCU’s Intellectual Property Clinic is a nucleus for aspiring intellectual property lawyers and patent attorneys. Housed within the School of Law, it provides no-cost counsel for clients who bring them patent and trademark issues. The IP Clinic is unique within the University of North Carolina System. Specializing in this area of the law can catapult a legal career into exciting directions, with practitioners working in the music industry, business, manufacturing, art and many other fields, said law professor and IP Clinic Director Mimi Afshar. “Our mission is to not only assist individuals obtain patents but also to bridge the gap between the IP sector and minorities seeking careers in IP law,” Afshar said. The American Bar Association National Lawyer Population Survey reports that only 15% of lawyers are minorities, with a small percentage specializing in IP. The 2017 American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) Report of the Economic Survey indicated 1.8% of IP attorneys are African American, 2.5% are Hispanic or Latino, and less than 0.5% are Native American. Clients who come to the clinic are served by upper-level law students who work under the supervision of licensed patent and trademark attorneys within the NCCU School of Law. The IP Clinic is certified by the United States Patent and Trademark Office to assist with patent and trademark preparation, filing and prosecution. Its reach extends beyond North Carolina, with clients residing in other states, including Florida, Virginia, South Carolina, Georgia and California. The clinic provides free legal counseling and services to those without access to high quality intellectual property 6

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PROFESSOR MIMI AFSHAR

LECTURER ROBERT TROWERS

legal services, which may include innovators, entrepreneurs, small businesses and early-stage start-up companies. The North Carolina Lawyers for Entrepreneurs Assistance Program (LEAP), a program of the North Carolina Bar Association, also refers clients. The fusion of practical clinics with traditional classroom lessons gives NCCU Law School students an opportunity to put legal theory to practice and gain first-hand experience in problem-solving, client management, drafting briefs and critical thinking skills. Thanks to the efforts of law students, NCCU Department of Music lecturer Robert Trowers recently obtained a patent for an innovative mouthpiece he developed for use with brass ROBERT TROWERS’ TROMBONE MOUTHPIECE PATENT instruments. Trowers’ invention is an elliptical shaped mouthpiece for brass instruments with characteristics of the traditional V-cup and bowl-shaped mouthpieces. His invention produces a distinct sound. The patent was accepted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office on the first submission. “My experience with the IP Clinic was very efficacious,” Trowers said. “I don’t know when I would’ve been able to pursue this process without the services provided by the IP Clinic.” Trowers plans to market his invention in stores as an affordable option for musical artists in the near future. Afshar said she expects two additional patents this year to join the dozens of others obtained by the IP Clinic. While students working in the clinic law feel satisfaction when ensuring that creators get full credit for their inventions, they also understand the long-term value in pursing an IP law specialty. The American Intellectual Property Law Association recently reported the average median annual salary for IP lawyers as $130,000. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that employment rates for all lawyers to increase by about 8% over the next five years.

Alumni Highlight: Sheila R. Spence, Esq. Sheila R. Spence ’17 was recently honored as the recipient of the Charles F. Blanchard Young Lawyer of the Year Award by the North Carolina Bar Association (NCBA) Young Lawyers Division (YLD) for her distinguished and meritorious community service to the bar. Sheila has been an active member of the NCBA since starting law school in 2014. During her tenure, she served as the YLD Division Director for Community Service Programs and led as the Legal LINK program chair. She has also served in various NCBA sections, including the Corporate Counsel Section, CLE committee, the Minorities in the Profession committee and the Sports and Entertainment section, which she chaired. Sheila has also been awarded as a 2019 American Bar Association (ABA) Young Lawyers Division (YLD) Scholar—a highly coveted and competitive leadership program that highlights successfully driven attorneys across the nation. She has served on several committees of the ABA YLD including the following: Credentialing Board, Membership Board, National Conference Team, Air and Space law committee, and the Legal Technology and Innovation committee.

Sheila serves as Corporate counsel for a health care technology company with headquarters outside of Los Angeles. Previously she worked as a staff sttorney and strategic policy consultant at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina. She provides transactional support for various business areas concerning privacy, data security, technology, corporate, and employment law. Outside of legal work, Sheila enjoys serving the Durham community. She is a Young Professionals Board member for the Caring House, a nonprofit residence that houses cancer patients with long commutes to their treatment centers. As a cancer survivor, she believes in the nonprofit’s mission of providing patients at Duke Cancer Institute with a peace of mind by helping them to secure affordable housing, and developing a positive and supportive community. Sheila received her bachelor’s degree in English and African American Studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and completed her law degree with honors from NCCU School of Law.

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Interview: Professor Cheryl Amana Burris & Attorney John L. Burris In this riveting interview with Associate Dean Marsetta Lee, our esteemed Professor Cheryl Amana Burris, alongside her husband, renown civil rights attorney John Burris, shared valuable breadcrumbs along what he calls (in an homage to Robert Frost) “the road less traveled.” As this power couple takes us along that road, we see that it leads through the tumultuous and painful political terrain of police brutality (from Rodney King to George Floyd), offers a view of the many passions that drive the legal practice and carefully navigates the twists and turns of the factors involved in choosing a practice area. With wisdom on topics ranging from matriculation to mentorship, Professor Amana and Attorney Burris together provide young and experienced lawyers alike critically important secrets to success and satisfaction in the journey of the practice of law and life. Dean Marsetta Lee: HBCUs have really been in the limelight lately. Many of those of us who have been involved in, attended and supported HBCUs just smile a little because we’ve loved and known about our value for so long. Now,

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people are behaving as though this excellence is gold that has been discovered. Since you all are steeped in that history, can you share with the audience and the future readers where that desire and spirit for HBCUs emanated from? Professor Cheryl Amana: You know, I actually have been committed to working and serving people of color – particularly African Americans – as well as teen parents and disenfranchised people my whole adult life. I did not go to HBCU, but when I started working at one back in 1985, within the first semester, I was sold on HBCUs, and especially the law school and what it was doing. I mean, to have a Black dean, a Black associate dean, colleagues who were women and men of color, and students – it was just wonderful. Ms. Lee: So, you knew immediately that North Carolina Central was the place for you? Professor Amana: Within the first semester, I was absolutely committed to staying at Central. I did go to Columbia for a year. And then, when John and I got married, we actually commuted for a year in 2001 before we married in 2002. The question was: Was I going to transfer to a law school on the West Coast or Central? I did do a visitorship for a year. I had a first-year property class, in the class of 90 students, I had three African American men and no African American women in the whole class. It was just not what I was committed to and it was not Central. I was not happy. Fortunately, John has supported me in a 20-year commute. Ms. Lee: How would you describe the social environment? Professor Amana: It was wonderful. John had pledged

for Kappa Alpha Psi, but I had not pledged any sorority or fraternity. I have to tell you, when they had the step shows, it was just so much fun. Attorney John Burris: There was this wonderful sense of camaraderie that existed. I’m a Californian and attended mainly California schools, but a part of that was, in college, I did pledge a fraternity, Kappa Alpha Psi. We had what they call frat games every year. All four of the Black fraternities and the sororities would get together and have these basketball tournaments. Because I was a member of the fraternity, I’d get the national magazine [which covered] HBCUs from around the country, so I got a good sense of what they were. Frankly, I was a little envious because they did have a special relationship. I always followed the athletic programs at the various schools and knew about the Black coaches. I knew about things that were going on for many, many years, so I always had a sense of it and I knew it was special. Having followed the Negro Baseball Leagues, so I knew that there was a specialness associated with African Americans when they are in control of the environment. That’s what I saw at HBCU schools. As for my family, we have had grandkids, nieces and nephews who we’ve all recommended to go to HBCUs, and some of them have. We clearly understand their value in terms of developing the whole person. It’s deeply rooted in our sense of what should happen and the kind of experience that you can get. Everyone we talked to who did go shared the same valuable experiences. And his past year, even the NBA gave special attention to the HBCUs during their All-Star Game. So, there is this kind of awakening in a broader sense of its importance. Ms. Lee: The New York Times recently reported an incident in which an adjunct professor at Georgetown was caught on a Zoom call making disparaging remarks about Black students. In the leaked video call, she stated that, while a few were at the top of the class, she was dismayed that every year Black students seemed to be at the bottom of the class. As a person who has taught at the undergraduate level, including first-generation Black and Brown students, I thought, “Wow! You wonder why they’re in the bottom of the class? Maybe it’s because your attitude is so disgusting and off-putting that you’ve demoralized them before they even got an opportunity to get into a successful academic rhythm.” The whole purpose of being a teacher is to reach student where they are and bring them along so they can shine. Georgetown did terminate the professor, but the issues remain. What are your thoughts? Attorney Burris: That’s been the entire argument for years gone by against affirmative action in schools. It was always presumed by the White professor – particularly at the major universities – that that’s why the Black students were there.

Professor Amana: When I came out of high school, I would say the majority of the African American students were going to HBCUs. There were 12 African Americans in my class at Penn out of 150 students. One of the professors said in class that all of the students of color had come through affirmative action, which was absolutely not true. That was 1974, and so, we had to come real far. But we still have far to go in terms of that sentiment Attorney Burris: It was true when I went to Berkeley that most of the students who were African American students were on affirmative action, but it really didn’t matter because these students have gone on to do great things and they were smart people. They may have had some deficiencies in certain areas, but they weren’t deficient in terms of intellect. And so, that is a stigma that people have to overcome and get past. Because, a lot of folks, they went to a school that did not prepare them as well as they should, and I’m one of those kids. They do have to overcome it and they can overcome it. But, the schools can create a hostile environment for them that they can’t overcome in that environment because you can kill their spirits and you’ll see dropouts occur. That does happen, and these young people may wind up being just like that. In some cases, students may not have been confident or adequately prepared. And then, in a lot of these schools, most of them, I might say, they weren’t there really to teach students how to do certain kind of things. These schools were very much institutionalized research institutions and were not geared toward helping students. They didn’t have the philosophy of finding students where they are and teaching them. So, I’m not surprised at that at all. VOLUME 23 • SPRING 2021

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The question really becomes: What is Georgetown going to do about that and what is their mission for that? Because, if you bring that student there, theoretically, you’re trying to help that student get through there. That should be the overall mission. As you said, students come at different levels. Wherever they are, the teacher should be able to reach them there, but that’s not always the case. It only shows, again, that there are people who really have a predisposition and belief system about Black students and they’re not prepared to assist in their overall development. That speaks why you have HBCU schools, period. Ms. Lee: This year has been especially challenging in light of COVID and, at nearly every dean’s meeting, we talk about mental health issues and student confidence concerns. I know that you mentor many new lawyers, including attorneys from NCCU. As we are moving into a new stage of COVID that students who are coming out now will face, how will you – and how do you advise us to – mentor new lawyers in this regard? Attorney Burris: Well, I would say, from a student’s point of view, you have to make sure that you have confidence in yourself. [This will] prepare you to deal with those challenges and make you stay focused on what your overall objective is. Ultimately, everyone has to find their own level. But, when challenges come up, you don’t quit – you just figure it out [and] make the most of the adjustments. I always tell people there are a lot of lawyers here, [including] a lot of dumb lawyers, and they’ve passed the examinations at whatever state it is. If they can do it, you can do it. So, maintain your confidence level. Ultimately, it’s a question of your own initiative about what kind of person you become as a lawyer, what your vision is and your passion for the world. Professor Amana: I do think that the students have been at a disadvantage by not being able to meet with their professors and their advisors face to face. It’s one thing to do it on Zoom. It’s another to have them in your office talking with them frankly – the sorts of things that may come up in person simply will not come up in a Zoom environment. Marsetta Lee: Each of you has different areas of practice and you clearly are passionate about it. How did that evolve? Why family law? Why civil rights law? Did a particular incident happen, or was it organic? Attorney Burris: Now, for me, it is the question I get asked the most. There’s not an easy response to it, of course, because, as I said earlier, I went to college to be an accountant. I was the accountant with the big glasses, the whole deal – Mr. Magoo at the time. But, I was not happy. And, frankly, the turning points in my life were when Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King were killed. That caused me to think that I needed to do more 10

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with my life than what I was doing. And so, stops along the way, obviously, going to law school was very, very important. I led a strike at the school where I became more of a student leader at the school. I ultimately went to Chicago and worked at a big firm. But, part of that process is that I was part of [efforts being led by] Ralph Metcalfe, who was a councilman at the time, a commission that was studying police brutality. And so, I got involved with that as a student, and that sort of stayed with me until I came back to California. I was in the prosecutor’s office in California, the prosecutor’s office in Chicago. But, when I started practice, there was a shooting that took place – very much like the shootings we have now. A 14-year-old was shot in the back many times by Oakland police officers. I don’t know the reason why, but I ultimately was appointed to be a private investigator into this shooting. And, when I did that, I was able to render an opinion as to the legitimacy of the shooting. Of course, I rendered one that said the shooting was wrong, and, when I did that, all hell broke loose on me. All of a sudden, I became a pariah. But, it also did something else. It lit a fuse in me. It clearly indicated that the police [sometimes] engage in conduct that [reflects] they’re not interested in the truth of the matter. They’re interested in protecting their particular image. I came to that resolution then, so, that kind of started me along my way. Ultimately, I was a criminal defense lawyer for a few years before I ultimately decided: I’m on the wrong side of the table here… what I really want to do is represent people who, themselves, have been victimized. Ms. Lee: Wow, that’s impressive. Professor Amana: Certainly for me, I had been committed to issues around family. I was a teen parent and I’ve worked with teen parents wherever I’ve lived and I’ve tried to support them. For my first law job, I moved to California when I graduated from law school and I worked for Willie Brown, who assigned me to family issues and education and health issues. Professor Amana: He was an assemblyperson, and, while I was working for him, he also became speaker of the assembly. One of the things it showed me is that there are so many things you

can do with a law degree, but you can make a difference that goes far beyond the courtroom, just those legislative things that we were able to get through. I would cover hearings for him around issues addressing maternal health and those sorts of things. And so, that got me on the road to being interested in family law. Then, once I started teaching, I would go back to Philadelphia in the summer because my family was back there. I actually had an arrangement where I would be an assistant city solicitor in the city of Philadelphia representing the department of social services, and all family law issues. So, I think I was absolutely well suited to teach family law. I loved teaching family law. Ms. Lee: Do you think that attorneys, that law schools and mentors emphasize the role of civil rights lawyers enough? For instance, oftentimes, students like my godson (giving him a shout out – he’s number one in his first-year class at Southern!) wants to be a public defender or defense attorney. I think defense attorneys and prosecutors gain a great deal of attention and there are more opportunities for lawyers of colors in government. But, as we look at where we are now (socially and politically), are we encouraging or planting that seed for young lawyers? I’m just throwing it out there. Professor Amana: I think certainly at Central we are. Our mission statement says we want to have lawyers be able to go back and represent disenfranchised communities. For the 20 years that I commuted, there was not one year that went by where John did not come in and talk to the students about doing civil rights work and what it takes. [That said], I think Central’s a special school. Generally, I don’t think it happens. Certainly, at Penn, they would think you were crazy if you were talking about going to anything like civil rights. Big firms were what they were trying to groom you for. And so, they just had different emphasis. But, I think Central, because of our particular mission, we probably talk about civil rights more than most. Attorney Burris: You know, at Berkeley, where I was-granted, we were at the height of the Vietnam War and Cambodia and all that-so there was a heightened sense of consciousness at the school. And so, there was discussion about civil rights and the employment matters that were just coming in at the time. But, I can tell you there were no conversations-none-around the issues of police brutality. What I think we learned and we come to think is that [for] White people, Jewish people, people who are interested in civil rights, police civil rights were not something they were interested in. They really were interested in employment. [T]he reason why even the lawyers committee

(which I’m a member of) didn’t deal with police issues is because there’s this sense there’s a hands-off there. And plus, the people who get involved in police issues have problems, so it’s not a clean situation. When I was at Berkeley, the law schools themselves did not talk about police litigation. In fact, the talk at the time that I can remember being discussed back in 1971 was in terms of housing, racial redlining and things of that nature. In 1973, the issues of civil rights related to law enforcement [were not so much discussed]. It’s an area that developed and I’ve been part of since the ’70s and ’80s. Now, when I talk to young students, at Central and even other schools, there’s always this interest in the back of their heads about doing civil rights. There really is. But, very few have done it, in large measure, because it’s not easy to do. Because, when present-day students get out of school, they’ve got debt. That debt can prevent them from doing socially relevant work. Still, we have been fortunate, I have, to hire young lawyers who come in and want to learn the work, and they’ve learned it. But, that’s a very small percentage. In all of the years that I’ve gone through Central, I don’t know that we’ve developed five lawyers who’ve done [civil rights work]. Ms. Lee: I see. Since so many graduates are facing this situation, do you offer them any other advice? Attorney Burris: Everyone’s not going to do the work that I do. It’s a unique practice, so most people are not going to be able to do it. But, there are things you can do. So, I will say to students, “Just because you’re not actually doing civil rights work in litigation doesn’t mean you can’t have positive impact on the community that you’re involved in.” Whether you’re a public person, in a government entity or in a private corporation or a private firm, there’ll be decisions where issues of race will come up. You are in a position to give insight, different insight, and that can be very, very helpful. Now, that’s a form of taking your values that you have around civil rights and infusing them into decision makings that can be helpful either at the city or the county or the US attorney’s office, wherever it may be. I try to broaden the civil rights concept as one of fairness, equality, understanding the rights of people and seeing if decisions may come up so that you might be able to utilize those values in moving a decision or giving insight to a fact pattern that your colleagues may not even [be aware of]. I have those kinds of discussions with people all the time to the extent that they want to hear it, because there is another side to it. All these cases, there are other sides to them. It’s really interesting.

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Transition in Chaos BY CHIP BAGGETT ‘16 EVP/CEO North Carolina Medical Society

North Carolina will reach a landmark in its history this March with more than 875,000 COVID-19 cases confirmed, 11,000 deaths attributed, and 1 million doses of vaccine administered. For me, it will also mark the passage of my first six months as only the fourth EVP/CEO of the North Carolina Medical Society (NCMS), the oldest professional society in NC, founded in 1849, serving physicians and physician assistants. Our previous leader held the reigns for over two and a half decades. While the transition was not unexpected, the timing was not what anyone could have anticipated. You will remember that September 2020 was a peak of instability. COVID cases were flattening at a very high daily rate after a summer peak. Students were returning to virtual school after a few months of hope that in-person learning would be possible in the fall. We were amid a massive awakening to systemic injustice. The nation was at odds with itself over the impending Presidential election just 60 days away. These were trying times to say the least, but for NCMS members it also meant the eighth straight month of record low patient appointments. Revenues were 30-50% below budget. Expenses were up due to new COVID requirements. There were massive shortages of essential personal protective equipment (PPE). Some small, private practices had even closed their doors by this point never to reopen. The ones that remained open plunged headlong into utilizing new technology for virtual visits in an attempt to maintain relationships with their patients and prevent further impacts of chronic disease than were already anticipated. These were trying times indeed. I am thankful to have been with the NCMS for more than thirteen years before having this new opportunity as its leader. The familiarity gave me an ability to hit the ground running at a time when new leadership could have needed to take a step back. I moved to Raleigh in 2007 to take over the NCMS’ state legislative duties after running the Buncombe County Medical Society, working in pharmaceuticals, and even teaching art in a previous life. Five years later, the NCMS supported me as I took on the challenge of working a fulltime job while attending the NCCU School of Law Evening Program. Another four years passed, and I would emerge from the feat a little battered but not beaten. The challenge had been overwhelming at times but there was always a light at the end 12

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of the tunnel. I knew when that ride was going to conclude, one way or another. That is not the case for this pandemic. We each play a role in how fast it ends or how long it stays, but the virus has a life of its own. Wearing a mask has become the norm. We all wash our hands nearly as often as our mother once told us to. And physical distancing has taken on dynamic new meanings, keeping families and friends separated for so long that we now expect a wave of mental health concerns to follow in the virus’ wake. And yet, the virus marches on. It mutates and adapts to our every move. New strains emerge more virulent and possibly more deadly. Who would have known just a year ago that we would be talking about a variant of the common cold with such concern? But there is new hope. Now three vaccines provide relief from serious illness and death from this pathological malady. These vaccines will likely become a part of our routine yearly medical visits in years to come. But for now, they are revolutionary and, I for one, am relieved that we are about to reach a level of supply that matches demand. COVID has not hidden or eliminated the existing difficulties for our health care system. We continue to face persistent access-to-care issues, and skyrocketing health insurance coverage costs. The insidious health disparities that have plagued our care model since the dawn of our nation have been newly illuminated. These are challenges that NCMS has attempted to address for decades. But this virus has given us a renewed focus and forced us to throw off old thinking and resolve to be solutions-oriented. My team at NCMS has worked virtually for the last year, but they have risen to the challenge to advocate and represent our members at every level of government and within the health care system to address the pandemic and maintain our member’s ability to care for our friends, family and neighbors. I knew this team well as we had been in the trenches together for more than a decade. My board was and remains committed to keeping this talented group of people together, even as many professional associations are cutting back on staff. And during this unprecedented time, my team did not hesitate to capitalize on this crisis to rethink how we are internally structured, challenge our systems to find efficiencies and reimagine a vision for what NCMS can deliver for North Carolina in the next decade. This has been one of the most humbling aspects of my new

job. It has been amazing to lead a group of professionals who are inspired by their work because they can see what that work is building toward. Our mission at NCMS is to unite, serve and represent physicians and their teams to enhance health. Our new vision focuses that health enhancement to include the wellbeing of everyone in North Carolina. This has given us new breath to speak to urgent needs within our community practices, our public health infrastructure and in the very lives of the patients that our members serve. We are aligning ourselves with groups we might have previously opposed to challenge our own thinking and to amplify the positive effect we can have when our forces are working toward a common good rather than focusing on small disagreements. As an advocacy organization, we can choose a defensive posture, or we can dream of a better tomorrow. NCMS has thankfully always been focused on creating a better tomorrow for our members and their patients. While we can all be bogged down at times by a reluctance for change, NCMS members and staff are realizing, now more than ever, the time has come to challenge existing norms. We must figure out a way to purchase health rather than health care. Our organization has been working with like-minded groups for more than a decade to move our reimbursement system away from fee-for-service to value. Value pays your health provider for partnering to keep you well rather than churning on the hamster wheel of sick care. While this seems practical in concept, the complexity of changing a system that is focused on codes and payments is daunting. But health care has adapted before to better serve patients and we can do it again. During this pandemic, NCMS has worked to acquire funding from the North Carolina General Assembly (NCGA) for essential PPE, liability protections and financial relief. We received all of those supports. During the fall of 2020, NCMS delivered $5 million in masks, gowns, and face shields to private practices across North Carolina. Hospitalemployed physicians were receiving like services through the Emergency Management System. In the last 58 days of the year, NMCS stood up a brand new technology system to collect financial receipts related to COVID expenses from hundreds of private practices. The system was utilized to distribute $25 million in hometown medical clinic financial assistance provided by the NCGA. That is unprecedented.

need equal urgency and focus to make a difference in the ongoing struggles of our existing system of health. The cultural change that has started within NCMS must extend well beyond to include extraordinary partnerships. We must reimagine how and where we deliver care as we normalize remote visits to achieve real improvements in behavioral health. We must fully embrace accountable care as we transform payment models to better reflect the outcomes we seek to achieve with our patients rather than the services we perpetually deliver without measured improvement. All of this will require the gifts of analysis, examination, and creativity that I acquired during the extraordinary opportunity to hone while attending NCCU School of Law. This one-time art teacher (and later lobbyist) went back to school late in life to emerge with training that extends well beyond legal interpretation. They say it’s never too late to teach an old dog new tricks, and I guess I’m living proof of that. This health care system might be an old dog, but together we can continue this transition in crisis and arise with a model that is truly focused on delivering the best for every patient. I lead my team now because of the support of countless individuals. They include my family and many of my current colleagues, but also the amazing professors in the evening program and my steadfast study group. I will always remember a meeting with my dean during school when I was facing a particularly challenging time with a family illness, overwhelming work, and the weight of law school. She said, “It’s really pretty simple. You can quit, or you can keep going.” No matter the obstacle, I choose to never give up.

While these successes were timely and amazing, we will VOLUME 23 • SPRING 2021

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Tribal Governance in the Midst of the “Storm” BY JOSHUA RICHARDSON ’20

“Mecoure’me:chen Kihoe,” which translates to “You are welcome here.” These are the words one usually hears when stepping foot onto the tribal grounds of the HaliwaSaponi Indian tribe. Each year, in rural Halifax and Warren Counties in northeastern North Carolina, as the frozen grounds of Mother Earth thaw from a long winter and the dogwood trees begin to bloom, my tribe prepares for our annual gathering known as a powwow. January of 2020 started much like each year before as my tribe began preparing to host our annual powwow on the third weekend in April. It is a time of healing, a time of laughter, a time of spiritual peace, and a time to share our traditions with younger generations and all of those who wish to learn more about our culture and heritage. However, unbeknownst to my fellow tribal citizens and the world, 2020 would prove to be vastly different. Not only would the dogwood tree bloom without the warm welcome of our annual powwow, but it would ensure that our powwow would not happen and force us all to adjust to an unfamiliar mode of survival due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Recognized by the state of North Carolina in 1965, the Haliwa-Saponi Tribe is one of eight American Indian tribes in the state. The tribe consists of 4,300 enrolled tribal citizens and approximately 2,700 tribal citizens live in a very tightknit tribal community on the rural Warren and Halifax County border while others live in the adjoining counties of Nash and Franklin County, maintaining strong ties to tribal citizens and family. This tight-knit sense of community and rural geography is one of the main reasons that our tribal community continues to face unique challenges. With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Chief B. Ogletree Richardson, Ph.D Ed., Vice Chief Jeff Anstead, and the Tribal Council were forced to issue an executive order for the Haliwa14

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Saponi to halt all in-person activities, including our annual powwow for safety reasons. As one might imagine, this was no different than the global response; however, this change in the normal function of our tribal community was nothing less than devastating, presenting unique challenges for my fellow tribal citizens. Functioning as a tribal government, resources that were regularly provided locally, including, but not limited to, employment activities, daycare, school, nutritional classes, elder care, tribal events, and access to other necessary services were immediately halted. A rural tribal community uniquely positioned in what some would term as the “middle of nowhere,” would now require those who never had reason to leave the familiar and safe tribal community, to travel out of the safety of their homes to find food, health care, water, and other necessary resources to survive. This magnified the need for stronger infrastructure within our tribal governance. Prior to the issuance of the executive order halting all tribal activities, I discussed how I could assist my chief, vice chief, and our tribal council with tribal governance and our continued efforts for federal recognition. It was decided that as an aspiring attorney that I would be enlisted to review important documentation pertaining to our federal recognition efforts and to determine if I could offer further assistance in other areas. It was an honor to be able to give back to my ancestors and tribal community in this manner, so I gladly accepted the calling to assist in these continued efforts. Since the pandemic, it has become even more apparent that not being a federally recognized tribe is a major concern. Becoming federally recognized would allow our tribe to receive equal access to additional federal resources. The additional resources would assist in expanding our tribal infrastructure to build much needed facilities and offer necessary resources to our tribal community. However, this is not an easy process, and unfortunately many state recognized tribes never reach this goal. We are determined that nothing will stop us from reaching our goal, even the COVID-19 pandemic.

As time passed, I noticed the dramatic increase of the impact of COVID-19 within my tribal community. Tribal citizens, especially elders, began to lose their lives to struggles connected to contracting COVID-19. Many were left lacking without necessary daily resources due to many tribal citizens depending upon the close-knit relationship of our tribal community. Additionally, the COVID-19 pandemic has brought certain legal issues before our tribal government due to suspended business functions and other impacted areas. I made the decision early on that as soon as I became a licensed attorney, that I would begin to combat the legal challenges and offer pro bono assistance to my tribal community. In the interim, I was able to continue working toward our federal recognition efforts by reviewing and organizing documents we would use in a later petition, and through my due diligence and partnership with our tribal government and staff, we continued to identify areas of support for our tribal citizens. Finally, November arrived—Native American History Month—and while the end to the COVID-19 pandemic was nowhere in sight, I had graduated from law school, successfully passed the North Carolina bar examination, and was able to be officially sworn in as a practicing attorney. My chief, vice chief, and the tribal council expressed their excitement and breathed a sigh of relief that I could finally help combat any legal issues facing my tribe as I became the third licensed attorney within my tribal community. My work toward our status of federal recognition continued, but as I began to address other legal concerns, the tribal council voted unanimously to name me as the first official legal counsel for the Haliwa-Saponi Tribe. It was as if I heard the cries of my ancestors in this moment, knowing that I found purpose in my work to serve my tribe on a pro bono basis in this capacity.

environment despite the pandemic. Challenges still exist and the COVID-19 pandemic continues to loom over our tribal community, but we now see a light at the end of the tunnel. As the pandemic continues, we have effectively begun online programming to assist with our tribal school, to host meetings, and to communicate effectively, which has greatly increased the sense of hope in our tight-knit tribal community. When COVID-19 first presented itself to our tribe, the devastating shock crippled our day-to-day function—but thankfully we now have a glimmer of hope as we move forward. We continue to work toward finding creative ways to supply necessary resources to our tribal citizens, and as legal counsel for my tribe, I am addressing the ongoing legal issues while progressing toward our goal of reaching federal recognition. My chief often says, “We are closer now than we have ever been before.” It may seem odd to say this in the midst of a pandemic, but COVID has made a close-knit tribal community band together safely in creative ways to continue to thrive and survive. The road ahead may still be filled with many twists and turns, but we say, “Pi: lahuk,” which translates to “Thank you.” We give thanks to the creator for allowing our tribe to continue weathering this storm because, like many other tribes throughout the country, we are sending a strong message to let others know that we are still here. And we will conquer this pandemic. Pi: lahuk (thank you).

After many meetings, I was able to assist with the ongoing legal issues and address concerns that were facing our tribal citizens. I worked closely with my tribe’s leadership to identify areas of concern, to discuss and find solutions for legal issues, and to begin moving forward in our federal recognition efforts. Our tribal administrator successfully brought the first COVID-19 vaccination clinic to our tribal community. This accomplishment led to vaccinations for over 300 tribal citizens and offered a glimmer of hope for those who wondered if there would ever be any sense of normalcy again in our tribal community. While our legal issues are ongoing, as a result of continued teamwork, we have begun to find grants and resources to assist with supplying daily materials needed for our tribal citizens and to establish a functioning community VOLUME 23 • SPRING 2021

ALUMNIHIGHLIGHTS

Eagle Soars: Fenita Morris-Shepard Named Chief Legal Counsel at North Carolina Central University North Carolina Central University (NCCU) has named Attorney Fenita Morris-Shepard as chief legal counsel for North Carolina Central University following a competitive national search. Reporting to Chancellor Johnson O. Akinleye, Ms. MorrisShepard serves as the chief legal advisor to chancellor and the NCCU Board of Trustees. She also heads the Office of Legal Affairs which provides legal advice and counsel on all matters affecting the legal rights or obligations of the University. Atty. Morris-Shepard served as interim chief legal counsel at NCCU from March 2020 to January 2021. Prior to joining NCCU, she served as counsel at Phelps Dunbar, LLC. She has worked in both private practice and the public sector for more than 30 years. For eight years, she held an appointment in the administration of President Bill Clinton under United States Attorney General Janet Reno as an assistant United States attorney in the Civil Division in the Eastern District of North Carolina. Additionally, she has worked in numerous in-house counsel roles, including assistant general counsel at Wells Fargo, N.A., and litigation counsel at Laboratory Corporation of America She also served as an adjunct professor at Skema Business School. An active member of the community, Atty. Morris-Shepard has served on the Boards of the North Carolina Justice Center and Alliance of Aids Services Carolina (AASC). In 2010, she became a certified employment law mediator. Atty. Morris-Shepard earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and received her Juris Doctorate from North Carolina Central University School of Law. 16

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COVID-19, Ethics, and The Law BY ATTORNEY SHEILA M. PARRISH-SPENCE

In 2019, the legal profession was functioning as it always had for decades. The courthouses were busy. Witness protection, law enforcement, court and hearing rooms, clerks’ offices, agencies, bar associations, legal supply stores, and more were open and busy until the interloper, COVID-19, an infectious, airborne, respiratory disease, covered the globe and became a deadly pandemic. Judges, court commissioners, and lawyers serve to uphold justice. Due to the global pandemic, the legal profession enacted new policies and rules to continue working for the good of the people despite quarantines, social distancing, and mandated wearing of masks. The restricted movement and interaction brought constant awareness of sanitizing courthouses and law offices for health and safety. Many of the legal professionals have been quarantined, hospitalized, or succumbed to COVID-19. The year 2020 started off well in the legal community until March. An interloper called COVID-19 invaded the US. This was not an epidemic – a disease that is only nation wide. It was global – a pandemic. The national and global news was grim. Many people have been quarantined or hospitalized, and some died. As of April 2021, the Centers for Disease Control had reported that over 566,000 people had died from COVID-19. This national epidemic is unlike any other. The nation— including the legal community — survived polio from 1916 to 1955, HIV/AIDS in the 1980s, cryptosporidium from contaminated water in 1983 and teh H1N1 flu in 2009, all survived polio from 1916 to 1955, HIV/AIDS in the 1980s, cryptosporidium from contaminated water in 1983 and the H1N1 flu in 2009, all with daily reports infection rates. Yet, the legal profession was undaunted. Instead, it creatively enacted new modes of working ethically in our legal profession. As the pandemic grew it affected our homes, employment, health, educational institutions, human services agencies, recreation, food supply, and technology. They each started to quarantine, restrict or reduce activities, limit travel or

TRAVIS SPELL, BA, ATTY. SHEILA M. PARRISH-SPENCE, J.D., MSE AND DR. LAKEIA JONES-SPELL, DSW, LPC, CSAC AT THE ALPHA KAPPA ALPHA SORORITY, INC. EPSILON KAPPA OMEGA, DEBUTANTE COTILLION IN MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN

close altogether. The various realms of the legal profession were no different. Courthouses, law offices, law schools, legal agencies and organizations streamlined their services or shut down to the public for a period of time. Lawyers, judges, and legal staff worked remotely. Numerous layoffs, reduced work hours, furloughs, and terminations became common and governmental directives for their populations to wear mask, wash hands, social distance, and curb social activities. Many legal entities still have no face-to-face communication with clients and others. The legal profession has been creative in using technology to continue its work. Judges, court commissioners, hearing officers, attorneys, mediators, law clerks, paralegals and support staff communicate remotely, mostly using video platforms such as Zoom. Training sessions for the legal community show legal professionals Zoom techniques, familiarized them with tools, including webcams, microphones and headphones and introduced technology language such as cloud meeting, personal meeting, meeting link, meeting ID, passcode, background settings, and breakout rooms. Legal seminars, conferences, and events are now online. The legal community adapted to screen share materials and online exhibits and to verbally interact by microphone and emojis. Now, law firms have tech departments, enabling them to file documents online. In Wisconsin, members of the bar and their staff used this secure private technology pre-pandemic. Some forms eFiled are for family law, small claims court, restraining orders, motions, and orders. The filer receives notification of receipt or rejection due to improper information and can check on the status of the forms eFiled through the system. For years I have said, “The only constant thing in life is change.” People adapt to change. We all remember when computers replaced typewriters and cell phones replaced VOLUME 23 • SPRING 2021

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landlines. Now, we’re seeing self-driven vehicles revving up to replace human-navigated cars. Not surprisingly, NCCU School of Law alums are adopting, adapting and keeping up with these rapidly changing times. A few sat down with me to share their experiences. Attorney Carmela Del Vecchio, NCCU School of Law, Class of 1974, is a real estate lawyer in New Jersey and New York. She stated, “In real estate there is more work for the attorneys and staff to perform due to COVID-19. Safety policies are by the court system regarding health, processing of paperwork, and work conditions. Electronic records indexing and online access for real estate forms and information have replaced most in person activities. (Online Acess to Public Records, 2021). Court clerks limit in person appointments with real estate lawyers to 30 minutes. They examine for processing real estate titles. Some counties require electric filing of land records, title searches, and recording of documents.” Milwaukee County Deputy District Attorney Lovell Johnson, Jr., NCCU School of Law, Class of 1983, works remotely. He stated, “I am a deputy District Attorney for the Milwaukee County DA’s Office in Wisconsin. COVID-19 has had a huge impact on our office and court system. Fortunately, because both our office and the courts were extensively computerized and almost paperless, the effects have been far less onerous than they would had those advancements not been in place. We have approximately 80% of our attorneys and staff working very effectively from home. The big problem has been with providing jury trials. Although some have been held in specially prepared courtrooms, there is a significant backlog which will have to be addressed immediately upon lifting of COVID-19 protections.” Attorney E. Yvonne Pugh, NCCU School of Law, Class of 1973, states, “If certain technological mechanisms had not been put into place pre-COVID, my office would have been up the creek without a paddle [so to speak] when COVID restrictions were mandated. Certain office personnel were already working remote but the assistant who scans documents 18

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for remote work could not come into the office for several months due to stay at home restrictions. This meant a lot of extra work for me. I also used to like Zoom when I first began using it because it was better than Skype for me. But now, I am almost Zoom burned out from having to use it for client meetings, seminars, socializing, etc.” CONCLUSION The legal system has always met and conquered challenges. The COVID-19 pandemic has plagued our nation. Yet, our legal profession has ethically set new rules and policies for the order of the law to continue. Through technology, ethical standards and legal mandates, and cooperation of the legal community, outstanding services continue to be rendered. We have stood for and ethically promoted justice and will continue to adapt to change.

REFERENCES Camden County. (2021, February 22). Retrieved from County Clerk: https://www.camdencounty.com/service/county-clerk/ Circuit Court eFiling. (2020, September 20). Retrieved from Wisconsin Court System: https://www.wicourts.gov/ecourts/efilecircuit/ index.jsp Centers for Disease Control COVID Tracker (2021, April 22). Retrieved from http://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#datatracker-home Online Acess to Public Records. (2021, February 22). Retrieved from Monroecounty.gov: https://www.monroecounty.gov/clerkonlinerecords

A Change of Perspective BY ALEXIS MURRAY, SBA PRESIDENT

How do you turn lemons into lemonade? Let me take you back to March 2020, when it all started. The beginning of what is now known as a global pandemic, something that has altered the lives of many including me. I would have never imagined that I would be spending the next months trying to make the best out of a situation that no one could have predicted. Beginning last year, and up until now, the world has been filled with death, sickness, quarantine, and political unrest. For a moment, it seemed as though every month, something new would happen. At times, it seemed as though lemonade was absolutely impossible to make. Upon accepting my leadership position, I would have never imagined that my term would begin and end during a pandemic. Leadership during a pandemic was something that many people have never experienced and it brought about a lot of uncertainty. However, I have learned that you have to remain calm and level-headed when faced with uncertainty to ensure you are able to think clearly and make the most informed decisions. I currently serve as the Student Bar Association president as well as the president of NCCU’s Black Law Student Association. Serving as a leader during a pandemic has proved to be one of the most challenging things I have done to date. I did not imagine that I would be spending my entire term learning remotely with extremely limited in-person interactions. This year, as a student leader, there was no glitz or glamor; it was all work and trying to figure out ways to keep students engaged. All of the fun parts of law school, such as the Barrister’s Ball, Law Week, and other annual events, began to disappear slowly as the virus continued to spread throughout the country. Even the hopes of an in-person graduation ceremony suddenly became slim. As you can see, my attempt to turn those lemons into lemonade began to feel more like making lemon water. However, as time progressed, I began to realize why I had lemonade all along. Despite being in a pandemic, I was able to continue my education. Despite student programming not looking how it normally would, many organizations were able to adjust and still host meaningful and productive events this year. Despite the possibility of not having an in-person graduation, the Class of 2021 will still graduate on May 8, 2021. For my own sanity, I had to find the positives in the midst of so many negatives. I had to see the glass as half full, not half empty. The glass is half full of lemonade, that is! VOLUME 23 • SPRING 2021

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“Bloody Sunday” History, Legacy and Continuing Need BY PROFESSOR IRVING L. JOYNER

On March 7, 1965, in Selma, Alabama, future congressman John Lewis led over 650 peaceful marchers from the Brown Chapel AME Church to the Edmund Pettus Bridge, which was to be the first leg of a widely publicized march to Montgomery, the state capitol. The march and an accompanying rally were to focus on the systematic and historic denial of the right to vote by African Americans and to demand the passage of federal legislation to give legal protections to African Americans who sought to register to vote. The Edmund Pettus Bridge was six blocks away from the church and had to be crossed in order for marchers to leave Selma. The march and rally were organized by the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, (SNCC) the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and local community organizers. As they marched in pairs along the sidewalk and crossed the bridge, they were confronted by a corridor of over 50 armed Alabama State troopers and White vigilantes, many of whom rode horses, dressed in riot gear and armed with batons and clubs. When marchers neared the end of the bridge, they were informed that they would not be allowed to cross; soon after this announcement, the troopers and vigilantes charged into the marchers on foot and horseback, unleashed canisters of tear gas and conducted a vicious and brutal baton wielding attack on the defenseless and trapped marchers. This unlawful and unprovoked law enforcement instigated attack became known as “Bloody Sunday.” The vicious attack, which was recorded by television cameras and radio, resulted in the hospitalization of 17 marchers, including John Lewis (who was at the front of the line) and serious injury to more than 100 other women, men and children. News footage which documented this attack was immediately disseminated around the United States and immediate outrage was voiced by civil rights leaders, activists, political leaders, celebrities and many others. This outrage quickly resulted in the planning of a follow-up march which was conducted two days later and was led by Dr. Martin Luther King. On March 9, over 2500 marchers followed the same route that was taken on Sunday from Brown Chapel to the Edmund Pettus Bridge and, when 20

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they reached the midpoint, they were also met by a larger and reinforced grouping of Alabama State Troopers and another contingent of White vigilantes who were there to provide assistance. When confronted by this armed group in what is referred to as “Turnaround Tuesday,” King and the march leadership quickly kneeled, prayed and decided to retreat and returned to Brown Chapel. That night, Rev. James Reeb, a White marcher from Boston, was beaten to death by a group of Whites in Selma. After returning to the church, a decision was made to file a legal action in federal court in order to obtain an injunction and restraining order that would allow the marchers to resume and complete their march. As result, a restraining order was issued and, on March 21, over 5000 marchers, led by King and Lewis and guarded by a contingent of 1900, deployed National Guard troops which was activated by President Lyndon Johnson, again crossed the famed bridge. Marchers succeeded in completing the historic 54-mile-long, Selma to Montgomery Voting Rights March and Rally on March 25th. By the time marchers arrived in Montgomery, the size of the group had grown to over 25,000. The televised broadcasts of the Bloody Sunday attack was regularly repeated on the national news and directly paved that way for the quick enactment of the Voting Rights Act, which was signed into law by President Johnson on August 6, 1965. That legislation was designed to give declaratory voice to the mandated voting rights provisions contained in every State’s Constitution and to extend the guarantees of the 14th and 15th Amendments to the United States Constitution. IMPACT OF VOTING RIGHTS ACT Since 1965, the Voting Rights Act has been determined to be the most far-reaching and effective in civil and political rights history. The Act boldly declared that it was illegal to discriminate against African Americans, people of color and language speakers in their efforts to register and vote. Section 2 of the Act prohibited the denial and dilution of the right to vote and gave citizens the right to sue to remedy any voting related violation. Section 5 of the Act gave supervisory authority to the U.S. Department of Justice to ensure that any change in any voting related requirement which negatively impacted the exercise of voting rights and that occurred in “covered jurisdictions” be pre-cleared before taking effect. The Voting Rights Act also banned literacy tests and the imposition of poll taxes.

“Covered jurisdictions” were identified as those States and areas which had historically demonstrated efforts to deny or dilute the right of African Americans, racial minorities or language minorities from exercising the right to vote. Based on the existence of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, African Americans and other racial minorities slowly joined efforts to register and to vote. These battles to insure the right to vote occurred in local communities and provided citizens, who were previously excluded by law, social convention and physical terror from voting, an avenue to legally challenge voter suppression and dilution in Department of Justice administrative proceedings and by filing claims in state and federal courts. Section 5 of the Act was singularly responsible for preventing hundreds of thousands legislative efforts by states and local governments to impose barrier to voting by African Americans, people of color and language minorities. As a result, more and more members of these excluded populations reached the conclusion that they could finally vote and were encouraged that they finally could find people on the ballots for whom they chose to vote. The power of this vote reached its high point in the 2008, 2012 and 2020 presidential campaigns when the percentage of racial minorities who voted matched or exceeded the percentage of Whites who voted in those campaigns. As a result of the voting rights impact, the number and quality of racial minorities elected at the local, state and federal levels have increased dramatically. In a stinging set-back to the Voting Rights Act, the United Supreme Court decided in Shelby County, Alabama v. Holder in 2013 that Section 4 of the Act no longer provided an acceptable justification to identify and correctly describe “covered jurisdictions” and, therefore, the Section 5 preclearance authorization now violated the rights of the states to control their election processes and procedures. The loss of Section 5 authorization required a change in voting rights challenges and litigation strategies to combat these violations and emboldened efforts by the States to vigorously create obstacles to voting by racial minorities. CONTINUING NEED FOR VOTING ACTIVISM The legislative battle to replace Section 5 and to resist vote suppression at the local, State and national levels continues today. Reflecting back on the struggles which the Bloody Sunday history and legacy motivated gives hope that these battle will produce victories like those which occurred in past years. This is not the time to ease up or to be distracted.

THE 50TH YEAR COMMEMORATION BRIDGE CROSSING MARCH (2015) IN WHICH PROFESSOR JOYNER PARTICIPATED. PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA, CONGRESSMAN JOHN LEWIS, THEN-PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE HILLARY CLINTON AND PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON ALSO PARTICIPATED IN THAT MARCH. OVER 40,000 PEOPLE PARTICIPATED IN THAT EVENT.

THE BRIDGE CROSSING MARCH IS HELD EACH YEAR TO RETRACE THE ROUTE TAKEN BY MARCHERS ON “BLOODY SUNDAY” AND IS DESIGNED TO CELEBRATE THE COURAGE OF THOSE WHO WERE ATTACKED AND BLOODIED IN 1965.

As states now wrestle with mandatory legislative redistricting, which occurs every ten years, community groups and organizations are gearing up to fight back against these and other expected voter suppression efforts. Already, States have proposed legislation designed to achieve that purpose, e.g. gerrymandering of state and federal legislative districts, photo voter ID, curtailing of the ability to vote by mail or cutting back on or eliminating early voting and out of precinct voting. In addition to these challenges, there are two major Arizona cases that are presently pending in the U.S. Supreme Court which give the ultra-conservative justices opportunities to gut the remaining portions of the Voting Rights Act. As such, real challenges exist. In response to these efforts, there are encouraging political signs and activism which demonstrate that community groups are rising up to challenge these efforts around the country. These activities resulted in robust political participation by racial minorities in States around the country during the 2020 state and national elections and suggest that people in these communities are fired up to protect their right to participate in the political life of this country. One hopes and prays that this present level of challenge, enthusiasm and passion will continue. Bloody Sunday can’t be seen as just another historic occasion which we commemorate, but must be viewed as continuing inspiration for those of us who remain to continue the struggle which was exemplified by those brave people in Selma who endured the viciousness and terror of the Alabama State Troopers on March 7, 1965. VOLUME 23 • SPRING 2021

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International Commission of Inquiry on Systemic Racist Police Violence Against People of African Descent in the United States BY KYLE HAMILTON BRAZILE ‘13

The principles handed down to us from those who came before inform our actions, our arguments, and often order our steps. Stare decisis. Our profession stands upon those things decided before us. This legacy echoes through our nation, not just in law, but in religion, music, the manner in which we protest, and the manners in which we take direct action to improve our society. Precedents in the courts often become a constructed truth used to fit a perceived need at the time. Miranda v. Arizona, Dred Scott v. Sandford, Brown v. Board, Plessy v. Ferguson, and Saucier v. Katz – they’ve all stood as precedent that cemented some type of legacy during their time, be it individual rights, White supremacy, or the immunity of the State. However, it is that wider legacy of stare decisis that propels us forward. The legacy of nonviolent protests, advocacy for the poor and powerless, legislative reform, and all of those ways of “good trouble” – they link us and helps us tear down the vestiges of hate and injustice. In 2020, the UN Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights had convened an inquiry for the purpose of reviewing, investigating and providing a report about systemic racism in policing throughout the U.S., and its impact on those of African descent. Reviewing and then moving beyond statistical analyses that show the disproportionately high use of force against racial groups, the Commission has traced this lineage of brutality against African Americans from the crimes and laws of slavery to the killings of African Americans and, the loss of property and wealth to the killings of Mr. Ahmaud Arbery, and Ms. Breonna Taylor (to name but two of the many). To effectuate its work, the Commission sought information on specific cases of police brutality against African Americans which had resulted in death, requesting information from attorneys, and gathering impact statements from victim’s families. 22

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One such killing was the death of Mr. Ritchie Lee Harbison in Henderson County in 2016. Attorneys J. Denton Adams, ‘12, and Kyle Hamilton Brazile, ‘13, of B.A. Folk, PLLC, were asked by organizers of the hearings to investigate Mr. Harbison’s death. While the details are scant, what is clear from the news reports and statements from the Sheriff ’s Office is that Mr. Harbison, a 62-year-old Black man, was involved in a motor vehicle collision in which his vehicle hit four parked cars. It appears that this was brought on by mental distress in that Mr. Harbison disrobed at the scene, and even after local law enforcement arrived he was “acting very irrational and noncompliant” to commands. In an effort to subdue him, he was Tased and he died shortly thereafter. Mr. Harbison was unarmed, had no criminal history and was not under the influence of intoxicating substances. And, although while his death certificate listed his cause of death as undetermined, it is clear from medical reports that he suffered a cardiac arrest. There are few details on any internal police investigation reports following this incident and no subsequent civil action was commenced by the family or estate. Family members did not return calls or respond to requests for information. Though Mr. Harbison’s killing could only be spoken of on a superficial level with no depth given to who he was as a man and the impact of his death on his family, unfortunately, his case is far from a singular occurrence and, in fact, mirrors a Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals case out of North Carolina that has come to set the standard for qualified immunity in the State. In the Estate of Armstrong v. Pinehurst (2016), on May of 2011 Mr. Ronald Armstrong was suffering from a psychotic break brought on by bipolar disorder and paranoid schizophrenia. His sister had successfully urged him to go to a hospital after he stated he was poking holes in his legs “to let the air out”. But Mr. Armstrong escaped from the hospital just before his commitment order was finalized. Police were called to return him to the hospital as he ran through the streets. Mr. Armstrong wrapped his arms and legs around a post, and after his commitment papers were finalized the officers deployed a Taser after giving him just 30 seconds warnings. The Taser was deployed five separate times over a period of approximately two minutes. After a struggle resulting in Mr. Armstrong being shackled by having one person stand on his back and another have a knee on his back, he became unresponsive and resuscitation attempts were unsuccessful.

In Armstrong, the Court of Appeals first applied a Fourth Amendment analysis and found that, under the objective reasonableness standard, the officers did employ excessive force. “It is excessive to use a Taser to control a target without having a reason to believe that a lesser amount of force could exact compliance,” the Court held, and then pointed directly to the fact that the manufacturer warned that the deployment of a Taser may not be effective on emotionally disturbed persons. But even with a violation of rights, given qualified immunity, the Courts determined that the officials were shielded from punishment for their unconstitutional conduct because of the laws at the time of the incident in 2011— that the standard applied to them “and that under that law, the unlawfulness must be apparent”. Upon gaining details about Mr. Harbison’s death and learning about some of the precedent which can be used to shield officers’ unconstitutional acts, the Commission quickly turned to questions and statistics surrounding the present and enduring legacy of systemic racism. They asked how this barbaric system had been formulated and framed around outdated notions of force embedded in case law and statute. The commissioners noted that injustice was clear and apparent, and one commissioner even asked whether these issues could be remedied “without economic policies in the form of reparations to the communities… to restore the concept of equality under the law.” Of note, the commissioners have an international lens, so while our notions of excessive force by the police codified under N.C. Gen. Stat Chapter 15A turns on defense of self and others from imminent harm, their lens turns on their own international rules which call for the “use [of] force and firearms only if other means remain ineffective or without any promise of achieving the intended result” — force as a nearly last resort. Advocates and attorneys will continue to fight on multiple fronts to bring light to and address these disparities and inequities. We can continue to push for training that reflects current technology, mental health disparities, and actual issues within communities. There is also the fight to undo these issues by passing laws that more adequately reflect fair notions of policing, that clearly outline unlawfulness, and that hold officers accountable. To this point, the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act appears to move some of these issues forward, with an attempt to ban chokeholds, no-knock warrants in certain cases, and alter qualified immunity. And beyond the Act, there is the possibility of centering our nation away from outdated notions steeped in systemic racism and handed down

from the policing policies of slavery and Jim Crow. We can look towards an international view of civil and human rights embodied in the efforts and work of peers around the world. For good and bad, our system is anchored in principles handed down from the past — principles that inform our actions, arguments, and often our dreams for transformation. We base decisions on how to impact the world on these inherited principles. And like the enslaved ancestors in America who transformed religious teachings about a God of fear and subjection into a Lord of hope and freedom, can bend the arc of equity toward hope and freedom. We have a long way to go before the sins of the past no longer skew the scales of justice, but this is our battle to continue to fight. The transcript and recording of Mr. Brazile’s testimony can be found can be found at https://inquirycommission.org.

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DEVELOPMENT OFFICE Marsetta Lee, Esq.

Associate Dean of Administration & External Relations

Karuna Rekhraj Program Specialist

The Development Office is proud of its 2020-2021 interns. They provided critical assistance on several projects and were always available to help on emergency matters. We extend congratulations to Senior Intern Courtney Brown as she leaves the nest to soar to higher heights.

Legal Interns

Left to right: Courtney Brown, Ajai Smith and Shanai Green 24

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CONTINUED FROM PAGE 11

You don’t have to take the last dollar. You don’t have to do the last thing just to show how great you are. And so, there are things you can teach lawyers on how to be effective and how to utilize their morality based around civil rights without being a civil rights lawyer. So, that’s a different challenge altogether. Ms. Lee: The pandemic has definitely impacted the practice in many ways. What have you seen? Attorney Burris: Our business has continued. All the law work that you can do without having to be in court every day, it’s done, all the interrogatories, all the depositions, all the expert witnesses. Nothing has stopped in that regard. We’re on the calendar, but we’re having Zoom hearings. We haven’t had a Zoom trial. But, I’m scheduled for one or two coming up in the next several months. I don’t want that to occur, but all the other ways of resolving the case without having the trial has continued. Ms. Lee: Has it expedited settlements? Attorney Burris: Yeah, I think it’s been very good for settlements. Actually, the truth of the matter, what’s been the best for settlements has been George Floyd, at least in the last nine months. Now, before that, we were always having good settlements. But, I think that the size of those settlements has gone up considerably since George Floyd. In large measure, since Rodney King, obviously, we’ve had more trials and more settlements because the general White population has seen that level of brutality. But, George Floyd has taken it to a whole new level because there, the White folks saw this and they could not identify with it. Surprisingly [in the Rodney King case], they thought Rodney King was the problem, so they never warmed to him. It’s not so much that they warmed to George Floyd, but they all could see that there was a knee on the back of his neck and they saw how long it was and they heard him cry out for his mama. They could feel that kind of pain. That’s what that meant to them, and so, therefore, that’s had a dramatic impact. And so, jurors now, they believe, are much more sophisticated and knowledgeable about these things. I just had this discussion. I did an interview in USA Today, yesterday, about the case. We were talking about jurors and the potential knowledge base that they have. That doesn’t mean they’re going to rule for you, but they knew a whole lot more about policing issues now than they did before, largely because, I think, there’s a continuum of course, but George Floyd clearly was a major breakthrough. Ms. Lee: I’m sure you have an opinion about the Breonna Taylor case in Kentucky which settled so quickly.

Attorney Burris: Well, it settled quickly because it was so outrageous. It’s the optics of it. They went into her house, a nursing student – a nice, nice person – and she gets shot and killed. The issue in the police shooting was that the tactics were bad. The liability comes from the tactics. One of those tactics is working on stale information for a search warrant that any kind of due diligence would have determined, one, that there wasn’t anything there. The guy that they were talking about hadn’t been there in ages and she had another life. They didn’t do due diligence, so, the lack of due diligence, then, ultimately, going to this house and resulting in this woman being killed, it was like an admission that they screwed up, here. Now, that’s not the same [in the related criminal case against Ms. Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker] because that’s a different look. And, what the police were able to rely upon was that, even though they got there bad faith and all, it was the guy who shot at us first, and, if... he hadn’t shot at us, maybe we wouldn’t have shot back, either. But, that’s why no criminal charges were filed. Although criminal charges could have been filed, that’s the analysis of it. Ms. Lee: Yes. I saw they just dropped all charges against him this week, earlier this week. That was a camouflage. Attorney Burris: He was in a self-defense mode. He didn’t know [if someone was] breaking into his house. He fired at them. Ms. Lee: What do you feel is the role of politics at this time and how do attorneys play into this? Politics being what it [is], the winner controls the judicial system and the judicial system controls the kind of justice you will get either on an everyday basis or on a social justice basis. And so, to me, the most significant aspect is the political processes. Now, what that means to me is that people with law degrees should be working on all aspects of this. They should be in the legislatures, whether it’s the state or congress or clerks VOLUME 23 • SPRING 2021

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for judges. They should be there because those decisions are going to be made that are going to affect your life. People may not appreciate what precedent is, but lawyers do, and so lawyers should put themselves in positions where they can affect the social agenda. That’s if you want to do that. And that means, to me, you join organizations like the lawyers committee that’s doing things, or even ACLU. Professor Amana: And the NAACP and the Legal Defense Fund. Attorney Burris: Yes. Both of these. There are areas to go [into]. Every major jurisdiction in this country has progressive lawyers doing progressive things, not always Black lawyers, but they are there. It’s not easy to get involved because these White lawyers hold these things dear. They really do. Rarely will you find people like myself who’ve been able to say, in essence, “I’m going to do it this way and I don’t need you to help me.” Although I do work with White lawyers – one of my best friends is a White lawyer – but the point is there are areas [in which] work has to be done to move the social agenda. Lawyers should find those. But, the vast majority of lawyers are going to be meat and potato lawyers. They’re going to be doing the daily work that keeps a community in good shape – to keep the thieves away, make sure that you get what you need, [that] the lights work. The real estate, landlord/tenant problems, the contract issues – these are all things that you need people to do on an ongoing basis, and there’s no shame in any of this because it has to be done. So, all those areas that we study in first-year law school and second-year, those are going to be important areas for somebody in their lives. Whether you like it or not, people are going to have family law problems. They’re going to have estate and planning problems. There’s child custody, and you need specialty people in those areas with a commitment to that kind of work. [These areas are] not glamorous; if you want your name in the newspaper, those are not the areas you do. But, criminal law is a huge deal. So, there’s work to do, meat and potatoes law work, and people should be willing to do it. Of course, the other things that are glamorous are more challenging, too. And so, you have to figure out how to become part of that if you can. It’s not easy. Professor Amana: One of the things that really concerns me is our students have to be prepared to go up against this new Supreme Court, and we’re talking about voter suppression, Roe v. Wade and reproductive rights. All those specific things are going to be impacted by this current Supreme Court. It’s going to be a 20-to-30-year fight. I’m going to be gone, but, certainly, I’m going to be depending on our lawyers that we’re training to wage the good fight because it is going to be a fight. Trump had a lot of lawyers [appointed], not just the three on the Supreme Court, but 26

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throughout the whole federal system. [Previously], it was getting to be a little bit ... I don’t know what the word is, but certainly better than it used to be. Attorney Burris: A lot better. Professor Amana: But, it’s going to go down as well because he has all these appointments. I’m looking at it in the legislative point having changes. All these things, they’re changing their laws to try and take us back to the old days of voter suppression. And so, some of our students have to be in the position to run for office so that they can… be at the table making the laws, challenging some of these really arcane laws to make sure they are not put back into place. Attorney Burris: You’ve got to make contributions. You saw what Stacey Abrams did. Money was the big thing there. Ms. Lee: Money, yes. Are there any warnings you would offer emerging attorneys? Attorney Burris: So, lawyers that want to be out there know that they [have] got a lot of different things to do. Part of it, they have to contribute if they want things to happen. You also have to protect them, and this is a big deal for me. You have to protect yourself mentally and emotionally. You have to watch out for those things that could take you down. Obviously, you’ve got sexism. You’ve got alcoholism. You’ve got drugs. You have forces out there that can ruin you. So, in the process, you have to watch your personal life as you develop your professional life. You don’t get to have one and/or the other. You’ve got to have both because the personal life can take you down. I always tell people, “Be careful how you treat people on the way up because you might see them on the way down.” And so, as a consequence of that, you’ve got to have a good sense of how to communicate with people and treat them well. Ms. Lee: As we come to the end, you are widely known for your representation of Rodney King. How did you come to represent him? Professor Amana: That’s a timely question. It’s 30 years since Rodney King, so it’s kind of an anniversary. Attorney Burris: Right, yesterday was the anniversary. The real question is the association between Rodney King [and] George Floyd. I had been actively involved in police brutality cases. I probably was one of the few Black lawyers who was actually doing those cases. The only other person of real significance was Johnnie Cochran in L.A., who had really been sort of a mentor to me. [T]hat case was actually signed up

by a Jewish guy named Steve Erman. But he had a falling out with Rodney King and [King] hired Milton Grimes, who had gone to law school [during] the same period of time as me. (He was at Hastings and I was at Berkeley.) And so, we had studied together a lot and knew each other from that period of time. Milton got the case then, but he was not a police practice lawyer; he was a criminal defense lawyer. He had a big personality, but he knew nothing about police stuff. So, he came to me and asked me, “Would I help him do this case?” And so, that’s how it happened. I was really hired to help with the case. But, it turned out that I was the one that knew the most about police work, so I became a de facto lead counsel in that case. It was good. As I told people yesterday, the best closing argument I have ever made in life was in the Rodney King case. When I finished that, I knew I had done something that I probably could never do again. I’ve been in a lot of major cases, but none as big as that in terms of the actual trial. The whole world was watching, too, so that made it a big deal. It was the first worldwide televised case, not on television every day like the O.J. [Simpson] trial, but big in terms of its impact. It was huge all throughout the nation. And, the reason why it was huge from a geopolitical point of view is that the U.S. government was trumpeting what a great world this was, the United States, fairness equality, all of that. And then, what you have is this brutality that was manifested by the LAPD. That then had people say, “Is that your reality? Is that your best? Is that how it really is?” So, it had significant political interest. That’s how I got into it and helped put the case together and then did the case. But, that sort of allowed me to bootstrap into another whole arena. So, when the O.J. Simpson case arose, I became one of the talking heads. That was plenty heady and it then caused me to do other cases and all. Ms. Lee: But, it started out with your passion and your preparation and your commitment to trying to make a difference and it just evolved, right? It’s not that you were looking. Attorney Burris: Right. It just evolved and that’s what happened. Ms. Lee: You all have been so gracious and generous with your time. Is there any other points of wisdom . . . you want to make or messages that you would like to share with the NCCU family, the Law School students or faculty or the Durham community? Attorney Burris: I want to say that the law can be a wonderful and exciting profession. You have a chance to decide for yourself as to [the] impact you want to have and in what area. And, you can do that. So, to me, it is an instrument to bring

about change, positive change if you want it to occur. I would add this: You can’t bring about this change necessarily on your own; for that you need the support of the public if you want to reform. And protesting is extraordinarily important. You, as a lawyer, could be dictating the direction that a protest is going to take, to some extent. So, there are opportunities there to bring about change in a particular area, whether it’s police, housing, whatever. It’s up to your own individual initiative, vision and passion to bring that around. Ms. Lee: That’s excellent advice. Thank you. Professor Amana: I have to say that back in 1985 when I first started teaching, we had a mission. And, now, 35 years later, we still have that mission. I want us to continue to stick to that mission, to recognize that we are a school of opportunity and that we are a school that offers a chance to people who, in some instances, have been written off. And then, invariably, our students go out there and they do wonderful, wonderful things. So, I would not trade anything that I’ve done. I’m glad I was able to commute for those 20 years that I commuted, and I have wonderful alumni out there. I miss my students. A lot of us who I came in with, like Patty Solari and Mary Wright, are all now phasing out. But I’ve mentored a lot of our young faculty and we have wonderful faculty that are going to carry on. So, I feel like the alumni should realize the law school is in good hands. I’m proud of the work that our alums are doing in North Carolina and nationwide. Ms. Lee: Absolutely. This was truly a pleasure. Thank you so much thank for your time, for your attention, for your support, for your wisdom. Attorney Burris: Take care. Professor Amana: It was fun.

VOLUME 23 • SPRING 2021

FACULTYNEWS

Charles Hamilton Houston Endowed Chair Announced North Carolina Central University School of Law proudly announces Professor Irving L. Joyner as the 2021 Charles Hamilton Houston Chair Irving Joyner is an expert in civil rights law and history and a national renowned civil rights lawyer. Professor Joyner is a prolific writer and his articles has appeared in numerous law reviews and other publications. Joyner’s article “Pimping Brown v. Board of Education: The Destruction of African American Schools and the Mis-Education of African American Students,” was published in the Fall 2013 edition of the North Carolina Central University Law Journal. He also wrote and updated three editions of his book, Criminal Procedure in North Carolina, and has regularly prepared law review articles, CLE presentations, appellate and amicus briefs and other writings which focused on voting rights, educational equity, police misconduct and other criminal and race related topics. The Law School is proud that Professor Joyner is an invaluable part of its law school faculty and has served as an Associate Dean of the school. Students from surrounding law schools are eager to come to NCCU Law School to take his courses. Joyner is a regular legal commentator for local, state and national media primarily in the areas of criminal law and procedure, politics, civil rights and other racial justice issues and is co-host of the highly acclaimed Legal Eagle Review which airs on WNCU 90.7 FM. It is only fitting that Professor Joyner is honored with the Charles Hamilton Houston Endowed Chair. Dean Houston was one of the most prominent lawyers in the country who trained and mentored a generation of Black lawyers including Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. His legacy has been acknowledged by countless bar associations and law schools. We are equally honored to acknowledge Professor Joyner’s contributions, not only to our law school, but to this region, state and country.

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Dr. Malik Edwards Awarded the John D. Fassett Professorship Endowed Chair Dr. Malik Edwards is Associate Dean of Academic Affairs & Scholarly Enrichment and Professor at the North Carolina Central University School of Law. Professor Edwards teaches Constitutional Law, Property, Administrative Law, and Education Law. Dr. Edwards serves numerous committees and boards. He has served with excellence during his 2013 tenure at law school where his love and commitment shine bright. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education in the Education Policy Program and his J.D. from New York University School of Law. Professor Edwards’s research focuses on educational equity and disparities in general. His work explores the use of interdisciplinary supports, specifically human development models to support equity litigation and remedies. He is a co-editor of an adolescent development textbook and has written broadly on equity remedies within constitutional contexts. The John D. Fassett Professorship was created for the endowed chair to make significant scholarly contributions to impact law reform in areas involving the constitution, law, human rights and civil rights. Congratulations Professor Edwards. We are proud of you!

VOLUME 23 • SPRING 2021

FACULTYNEWS

NCCU School of Law Alumnus Professor Reginald Mombrun Named RJR Nabisco Endowed Chair Professor Reginald Mombrun joined NC Central School of Law in 2008 after teaching at Florida A&M College of Law. Prior to teaching, Professor Mombrun spent 14 years in the national office of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) specializing in corporate mergers and acquisitions and served as an assistant branch chief his last two years at the IRS. He is responsible for a number of regulations, revenue rulings, revenue procedures and countless private letter rulings in the corporate tax area. He co-authored Mastering Corporate Tax and a Complete Introduction to Corporate Taxation. He has also written a book on his native Haiti, Haiti: A Primer on its Revolution and Diaspora. He has written countless articles on technical and policy aspects of the federal income tax and has introduced a tax certificate and a low income taxpayer clinic at the Law School. Professor Mombrun received a Master of Laws (LL.M) from the University of Florida, a J.D., cum laude, from NCCU School of Law and a B.S. from Boston University. He is a member of the Florida Bar and the American Bar Association (ABA) and has taught a number of course including: Contracts, Fundamentals of Income Taxation, Corporate Taxation, Advanced Taxation, Partnership Taxation, Sales, Secured Transactions and Selected Issues in Family Law. Professor Mombrun’s reputation for making complex courses and principles appear simple has made him very popular with students. He exemplifies Eagles’ pride and is a true asset to the School of Law.

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NCCU School of Law’s First Marketing Campaign BY MITZI TOWNES Collection and Access Librarian for the Law Library

On March 1, 1939, the North Carolina General Assembly enacted House Bill 18, which authorized the creation of a law school at the North Carolina College for Negroes, known today as the North Carolina Central University School of Law. During this time, racial segregation was the law of the land and African Americans were barred from attending law school at any of the White institutions in the state; therefore, a separate law school was established. Although the school was founded in 1939, it didn’t officially open until 1940 partially due to the lack of student enrollment. There was a miniscule pool of potential African American law students and reaching those students was challenging, especially for a historically Black college with limited resources. Marketing the newly founded law school to its targeted audience required a strategy that was cost effective, resourceful and productive. Today, we have a plethora of marketing tools that can be utilized to disseminate information, however, in an era preceding social media and computers, the options were few. Maurice T. Van Hecke, served as the law school’s first dean from 1939-1942. Dean Van Hecke, who was also serving as Dean of the School of law at UNC- Chapel Hill, was enlisted to assist North Carolina College with the development of its law school. The newly appointed Dean was immediately confronted with the daunting task of student recruitment. In an effort to attract students to the program, Dean Van Hecke launched a letter writing campaign targeting historically Black colleges and universities(HBCUs) to inform them of the recently sanctioned law school for African Americans who desire to study law. Individually typewritten letters were mailed to the deans of HBCUs throughout the country, including North Carolina Agricultural & Technical College (now University), Howard University, and Georgia Normal and Agricultural College (now Albany State University) to name just a few. Incidentally, he also sent letters to a few predominantly White institutions such as Oberlin College, one of the first integrated colleges in the country and his alma mater, Harvard University.

In addition to colleges and universities, Dean Van Hecke also made appeals to African American attorneys and other prominent members of the community, seeking their assistance promoting the law program to potential students. An endorsement from well respected leaders and professionals could provide “word of mouth” marketing that would be beneficial, especially for a fledgling program that was still in development and had yet to cultivate a reputation within the field of legal education. Dean Van Hecke sought support from luminaries such as M. Hugh Thompson and Meredith M. Hugh, both respected and successful African American attorneys in Durham and Dr. Charlotte Hawkins Brown, an educator and founder of the Palmer Memorial Institute preparatory school. The recruitment and marketing efforts of Dean Maurice Van Hecke proved to be successful. The law school enrolled its first student, Robert Bond and soon thereafter enrolled four additional students, bringing its total enrollment to five by the start of fall semester in 1940. Throughout his tenure, the Dean continued writing letters to promote the law school and build relationships necessary for growth and expansion. Although resources were scarce and technology was not advanced by today’s standards, Dean Van Hecke proved that an effective marketing strategy could be achieved with determination, ingenuity and consistency. *The letters featured in this article are located in the law library. These letters and many other documents will soon be available for viewing in the law library’s digital repository.

VOLUME 23 • SPRING 2021

HISTORICALPERSPECTIVE

Race and Place: The Upbuilding of Hayti and Black Wall Street BY ANDRE D. VANN Coordinator of the University Archives and Instructor of Public History at North Carolina Central University.

“Go to Durham....You need the inspiration. Go to Durham and see Negro business with an aggregate capital of millions. Go to Durham and see twenty-two Negro men making modern history. Among your New Year’s resolves, resolve to go to Durham!” - Excerpted from a 1928 article written by the editor of the St. Luke Herald, a Black weekly newspaper in Richmond, Virginia The study of African Americans on Parrish Street (also known as “The Black Wall Street”) is the biography of a determined people who worked within the confines of Jim Crow to build an enduring legacy of leadership and service. Durham, North Carolina has served as a true role model of the “New South” since the 1880’s and throughout the early 1900’s. Durham’s leaders, both Black and White, represented a new breed of Southerners that were not content with the status quo and were willing to be a model throughout the South. This historical narrative explores the role of public and private memory in shaping interpretations of the past. Also, this research offers a more complex understanding of Durham’s rich history by examining the business, social, political, and cultural connections during significant periods of social change. This piece will trace the growth and development of the African American citizenry that has impacted and shaped the City of Durham from the Reconstruction era, during the Jim Crow era and during the post-desegregation years. Further, it is important to note that a majority of African Americans resided in the South in the early twentieth century and they exercised group economics by pooling resources and group politics by founding organizations that were representative of the African American citizenry that survive today. Over the years, the City of Durham, North Carolina, once called the “Chicago of the South,” has become a major

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center of economic, social and political advancement for African Americans. It, was much like most southern cities in the 1880s and 1900s, had rigidly segregated communities. The majority of African Americans resided in the southern and southeastern sections known as “Hayti,” (pronounced “haytie”). The first reference to the name Hayti appeared in an 1877 deed that was described as a lot “in the settlement of colored people near the South East end of Durham known as ‘Hayti’.” With this interracial and economically progressive environment, Durham emerged as one of the centers of the African American middle class in North Carolina and the South. Many members of this middle class resided in impressive, large residents in the Hayti district. The architecture of the houses was Victorian. They had spacious porches and large lawns. Also located in Hayti were churches, stores, funeral homes, a hospital, a library, a college, civic clubs, and fraternal lodges. By 1900, the Hayti business community grew rapidly, and was annexed into Durham City between 1901 and 1903. It emerged by the 1920s as a major center that supported an economy that included over 120 businesses that included restaurants, grocery stores, real estate, professional offices, shoe repair shops, florists, grocery stores and churches. In 1911, Dr. Booker T. Washington, the noted educator at Tuskegee Institute and founder of the National Negro Business League, noted in an article entitled “Durham, North Carolina, A City of Negro Enterprise” published in the Independent Magazine that Durham provided an opportunity for African Americans to excel economically. This conclusion was based on his visit to Durham in 1910 to view the National Religious Training School and Chautauqua Incorporated for the Colored Race, Inc. and the progress of the African American race. But, Washington also recognized the existence of amicable relations between African Americans and the White community. He stated, “Of all the southern cities that I have visited I found here the sanest attitude (among) White people toward the Blacks.” In 1912, prominent sociologist and African American historian Dr. W. E. B. DuBois referred to Durham, specifically the Hayti area, as the “Negro business mecca of the South.” Published in World’s Work magazine, the article,

entitled “The Upbuilding of Black Durham — The Success of the Negroes and Their Value to a Tolerant and Helpful Southern City” stated: “There is in this small city a group of five thousand or more colored people, whose social and economic development is perhaps more striking than that of any similar group in the nation.” The majority of this community rested in the confines of the original town limits and was inhabited by many of Durham’s earliest Black families (e.g. the Ameys, Markhams, Pearsons, Pratts, Faucettes and O’Danielses) who migrated from various outlying communities. The early Black families came in search of greater economic opportunities that existed as a result of the tobacco industry that was thriving at that time. The creation of the American Tobacco Company by Washington Duke and Sons proved pivotal in the formation of Durham County that grew out of Orange and Wake counties in 1881. The Dukes, the Wattses, and the Carrs were instrumental in supporting African American pioneers such as John Merrick (barber), Dr. Aaron M. Moore (physician), Charles. C. Spaulding (clerk), Richard Fitzgerald (brickmaker), Dr. James E. Shepard (pharmacist and real estate), and Durham natives Dr. Stanford L. Warren (physician) and William G. (“W. G.”) Pearson (educator and fraternal leader). Key to creating and sustaining the community’s economic, social and political landscape were the dreams of Merrick, the humanitarian efforts of Moore and the work of Spaulding. Their most noted joint achievement included the 1898 funding of the North Carolina Mutual and Provident Association, later known as the North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company (Mutual). Originally established to provide sickness and burial insurance (which African Americans could not get from White-owned companies then), within a half century it expanded into the largest Black-owned business in the United States and subsequently the world.

EARLY BLACK WALL STREET

into the community. Throughout its history, the company has had programs to build strong businesses, families, and communities through jobs, investments, loans, contributions and support of social programs. Although Hayti was the residential and social center of African American life, Parrish Street, in the very center of Durham’s business district, became the hub of African American business and commerce. Here, in 1911, Merrick and his associates built a brick building to house the offices of their rapidly expanding insurance company, which by then had associated itself with the Mechanics and Farmers Bank, another Black-owned enterprise chartered in 1907. Within two years, Mutual had purchased additional lots and also added to its offices, forming an African American business complex that included two clothing stores, a barber shop, a real estate company, a large drugstore, a tailoring shop, the offices of the Durham Negro Observer, the Mechanics and Farmers Bank, and a hosiery mill.

Since its founding in 1898, Mutual served as a catalyst for social and economic development since its founding. The company relied upon the tenets of self-help and uplift with the phrase, “merciful to all,” was the company’s first motto. With a sense of corporate social consciousness and responsibility, the company formulated the concept of and belief in the “double-duty dollar.”

More African American businesses were founded, such as the Royal Knights of King David (1883), Mechanics and Farmers Bank (1908), People’s Building and Loan Association (1915), Banker’s Fire Insurance Company (1920), Fraternal Bank and Trust Company (1921), Mutual Building and Loan Association (1921), National Negro Finance Corporation (1924), Southern Fidelity Mutual Insurance Company(1926), Royal Knights Savings and Loan Association (1927), Union Insurance and Realty Company (1928), the T. D. Parham and Associates, which aided in the financing of numerous additional Black businesses (1929), and the Durham Textile Mill.

It was modeled after the popular “mutual benefit societies” with the concept based on the premise that income derived from insurance sales could be channeled back

This Black economic achievement did not go unnoticed. The Black press lavishly praised Durham as the “capital of the Black business class” and “The Magic City.” Also, the VOLUME 23 • SPRING 2021

HISTORICALPERSPECTIVE editor of the St. Luke Herald, a Black weekly newspaper in Richmond, Virginia urged its readers “Go to Durham…. You need the inspiration. Go to Durham and see Negro business with an aggregate capital of millions. Go to Durham and see twenty-two Negro men making modern history. Among your New Year’s resolves, resolve to go to Durham!” As early as 1905, Mutual purchased its first lot on Parrish Street and erected its initial office building and as more adjoining property became available they purchased additional lots on Parrish and Orange Streets. Mutual also purchased additional land on the east side of Orange Street, which consisted of a total of three-fourths of the block bounded by Parrish, Orange and Chapel Hill Streets, Rigsbee Avenue and Mangum Street. As noted earlier, the part of West Parrish Street that housed the Mutual and its neighbors became known as the “Black Wall Street.”It is important to note that White businesses occupied the rest of the street with their businesses.

wholly of steel, reinforced with trussed bars, incased in concrete. The walls are of hard burned brick, with the exception of the street front which is faced on the first floor with the Indiana Stone, and on the upper floors with buff colored brick, bonded to the backing with galvanized iron bond ties. The covering of the walls is terra cotta, which substance also lines throughout all floors. The wainscoting in the bank, toilet enclosures, throughout the structure, is of Tennessee gray marble, with polished surface. For the convenience of those who do not care to climb six flights of steps, an elevator, of steel construction, has been installed.” On the first floor of the building were the Mechanics and Farmers Bank and the Mutual Building and Loan Association, which shared space with the bank. The second floor was occupied by the Bankers Fire Insurance Company and North Carolina Mutual. An assembly room and cafeteria were located on the sixth floor. As a result of the increased and steady volume of business even more space became needed and by June of 1948, the home office had to be expanded into the second floor of the adjoining building and into the first and second floors of property purchased at the 111 Orange Street building.

On this site sat the former first home office building of Mutual, which was demolished in 1920 in order to facilitate the construction of a building NORTH CAROLINA MUTUAL BUILDING, to accommodate the ever expanding HEADQUARTERS OF BOTH NORTH CAROLINA MUTUAL AND MECHANICS AND FARMERS BANK business. The Durham architectural firm of Rose and Rose created the In 1965, the Mechanics and Farmers designs and plans for the building. This new, Neoclassical Bank purchased the building and, in 1966, Mutual moved Revival style structure at 114-116 West Parrish Street was to its new headquarters on West Chapel Hill Street. This built by noted contractor and builder H.L. Smith and was building was later renamed the Mechanics and Farmers completed in October of 1921. Mutual’s second home office Bank Building. On May 15, 1975, the building was was officially dedicated on Saturday, December 17, 1921. In designated a National Historic Landmark by the National 1922, the headquarters of the Mechanics and Farmers Bank Park Service and was so named a part of the local Historic relocated to the first floor of the Mutual building. District of Downtown Durham. The new office building was described in great detail by the December 31, 1921 issue of The Durham Sun in which the editor wrote: “The newly completed home office of North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company was erected at a cost of $250,000. it is a strictly modern fireproof building, six stories high, towering 86 feet in the sky, occupying a triangular lot with an area of 3,316 square feet and with a basement 10 feet deep. The framework is 34

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In 1997, the old Mutual Savings and Loan office (later renamed Mutual Community Savings Bank) which was located at 112 West Parrish Street was sold to Mechanics and Farmers Bank for $135,000 which operated out of an adjacent building and needed the space for expansion. Now owned by the North Carolina Institute of Minority Economic Development, the expanded North Carolina Mutual and Mechanics and Farmers Bank building stands as a towering monument to the achievements and achievement of the race.

As African Americans in Durham progressed materially, their culture, through its social institutions and music, created strong community bonds. The oldest African American social institution in Durham, as in other cities, was the church. White Rock Baptist Church, organized in 1866, by Margaret Faucette and Sallie Husband, and St. Joseph’s African Methodist Episcopal Church, founded in 1869, were multifaceted institutions that served as places of worship and centers of uplift. Schools also shaped the community. In 1910, Dr. James Edward Shepard, a pharmacist, founded the National Religious Training School and Chautauqua for the Colored Race (which would ultimately become North Carolina Central University). His vision included training students in moral leadership as well as academics. Not only were the school’s graduates expected to better the condition of their race, they were to be model citizens deserving the virtues of a democratic nation.In 1925, the school became the first African American statesupported liberal arts college in the nation and graduated its first four-year college class in 1929. In 1939, the North Carolina General Assembly authorized the establishment of graduate work in liberal arts. In 1940, the Law School began operation, followed by the School of Library Science in 1941. The institution cultivated leadership, producing men and women who filled positions of importance to many businesses in the Hayti community and on “Black Wall Street.” Durham’s Black businesses thrived due to self-initiative and segregation that relegated African Americans to select markets patronized by Blacks and owned by Blacks. These businesses were situated along the railroad tracks, the dividing line that left them segregated. Ironically, as a result of Jim Crow laws, African Americans were forced to create their own institutions, making them producers, as well as consumers, of goods and services. These factors helped to establish an economic community owned and patronized by Blacks and some Whites. These economic advantages this afforded the community gave rise to other Black businesses and led to the founding of numerous civic, social, fraternal, and philanthropic organizations. At the turn of the twentieth century, a modest Black middle class had formed and taken root in Durham. Although Hayti remained the major residential center of African American life, such communities as the West End, East End, Hickstown and Crest Street, Pearsontown, the Bottoms, and College View, and other African American communities blossomed and grew during segregation and have provided safe spaces for families and small business owners for generations.

MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF MECHANICS AND FARMERS BANK

While some African Americans occupied positions as executives on Black Wall Street, they were supported by African Americans who were employed as domestics, tobacco factory workers, educators, morticians, physicians, grocery store owners, bricklayers, insurance agents, and lawyers. Others operated beauty salons, barber shops, restaurants, contractor companies, and countless grocery stores. Notably, there are but four institutions that have survived and even thrived during segregation and postdesegregation: the Black family, Black barbershops and beauty salons, Black churches, Black and funeral homes. While African Americans living in Durham enjoyed a strong and independent social, economic, and cultural life, they could not escape from “Jim (and Jane) Crow.” Outside of their communities, Blacks were still treated as inferiors and second-class citizens. African Americans confronted their oppression and looked inward and unto themselves with regard to augmenting their communities and uplifting for the race. All of that began to change in 1909 with the establishment of the citywide Civic League that was established “for the cultivation of higher ideals of civic life and beauty in Durham.” Its main projects included a cleanup of public buildings, railroad station, and vacant lots and the founding of clinics for the treatment of Black infants. Later, in 1935, during the “Great Depression,” the Durham Committee on Negro Affairs was founded in the Algonquin Tennis Club on Fayetteville Street (the present site of W. D. Hill Recreation Center) by Shepard, Spaulding and other leading businessmen, including William J. Kennedy, Jr.,

VOLUME 23 • SPRING 2021

HISTORICALPERSPECTIVE John H. Wheeler, Louis Austin, Rencher N. Harris, James T. Taylor, Richard L. McDougald and W. D. Hill. The purpose of the Durham Committee was the pursuit of social and economic equity for African Americans. Its strategies of civic engagement, voter registration, and court battles helped to usher in the non-violent civil and human rights movements. Some Durham African Americans criticized the Durham Committee for being too conservative. As a result, in the mid-1950s and 1960s, they began joining local chapters of more progressive groups like the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). Still, the Durham Committee continued to follow a course that proved productive in promoting interracial communication. In 1938 the Durham Business and Professional Chain (also known as “the Chain” or the DBPC) Square, was organized as a member of the National Business League. With the slogan, “In union there is strength,” the Chain’s mission was to promote the growth and development of Black business leaders and professionals through “cooperative effort and unselfish service” to the African American community. It also served as a networking agency that sponsored courses, workshops and Trade Week, which highlighted the hundreds of minority-owned firms throughout the region. In the late 1950s and 1960s, this progress was arrested as the business district began to decline and the walls of segregation began to come down with the Brown vs. Board of Education decision of 1954 and the repeal of other segregation laws. The coming Urban Removal, referred to as “Negro Removal,” was the final blow as the Durham Redevelopment Commission proposed the demolition of nearly 80 acres in the Hayti community to make way for the Durham Freeway for the purpose of creating an easier route connecting downtown Durham to the newly established Research Triangle Park. Promises were made by the Redevelopment Commission to relocate the over 120 Black businesses in “Tin City,” a brand new 15-acre shopping center on Old Fayetteville Street. Many of those commitments were not fulfilled and, as a result, those Black businesses and over 500 families were displaced. Only a portion of the land was ever used until the erection of developments that dot the sky line today at 36

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the intersection of both Fayetteville and Pettigrew Streets. The remnants of “Tin City” include “Phoenix Square,” the former “Heritage Square” shopping centers, and the 19-acre former Rolling Hills site on Lakewood Avenue in southeastern Durham. Rolling Hills was formed in as a nonprofit townhouse community development company founded in 1986 by North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company that went bankrupt after erecting only 30 townhouses and 13 patio apartments out of a proposed 250 units that never came to fruition. Beginning in the mid-1960s, the DBPC was the primary sponsor of the federal government’s effort to assist minority businesses through the creation of Minority Development Centers. It enjoyed a high level of recognition for its past performance, which made Durham the center of this work in the Raleigh-Durham area and in eastern and central North Carolina. These programs provided programs and assistance to minority-controlled firms and resulted in increased loans, contracts and opportunities for minority businesses. The “Upbuilders” were those with relationships with Hayti and Black Wall Street and who had ties to the Law School Attorneys John Hervey Wheeler and James Joseph “J.J.” Sansom, Jr. both served as presidents of the venerable Mechanics and Farmers Bank. Without a doubt, their admission and attendance were definitive in allowing the Law School to remain viable since they were professionals who could work by day and still attend law school. Both Atlanta natives, Wheeler and Sansom both graduated Atlanta’s all-male, private Morehouse. While enrolled in law school, they were under the guidance of the esteemed Dean Albert L. Turner, who served from the beginning of the Jim Crow era in 1943 through the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, guiding two generations of African American lawyers to positions of influence in the legal and business communities. Born in 1908 on the campus of Kittrell College in Kittrell, North Carolina, where his father was president, Wheeler had grown up in Atlanta where his father later worked as manager of the Atlanta District of Mutual. Considered a “Renaissance man,” Wheeler was an accomplished violinist, tennis player, scholar, intellectual, political activist and advisor to presidents and governors who was actively affiliated with civic, political, academic, and business organizations. Having learned from Dean Turner to challenge the status quo in the racial environment in Durham and North Carolina, Wheeler became a legal giant who initiated the

earliest litigation that brought about the desegregation of the Durham city schools. Through the DCABP’s education committee, Wheeler led a legal challenge, beginning with Blue v. Durham Public School Dist., 95 F. Supp. 441 (M.D.N.C. 1951)) toward school equalization in Durham and other cities across North Carolina. Later, in 1956, together with fellow, Law School alums graduates Floyd B. McKissick, Sr. and William A. “Billy” Marsh, Jr., and several other Durham attorneys, including Conrad O. Pearson, won the U.S. Supreme Court case, Frasier v. Board of Trustees, 134 F. Supp. 589 (M.D.N.C. 1955), which led to the first three Black undergraduates gaining admission to the state’s oldest public institution. In 1952, following Spaulding’s death, Wheeler was appointed to the presidency of Mechanics and Farmers Bank where he served for a total of 25 years. He was best known as the chairman of the Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People, an influential organization founded to serve as a representative body of the African American citizenry of Durham. The organization, which he helmed from 1958 to 1971 promoted the general welfare of African American citizens in political, educational, economic, civic, cultural and community affairs. Under his leadership, “The Committee” was the nation’s most effective and powerful political organizations. He was a force and voting bloc in Durham North Carolina. Over the 50 years Williams spent as a banker, civic leader and civic, civil rights and human rights activist he coined the slogan, “The battle for freedom begins every morning.” At the national and international levels, Wheeler served in many capacities, having been appointed by numerous presidents of the United States. He was the first African American selected to lead the prestigious Southern Regional Council. He was a member of the Commission on Race and Housing, the President’s Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity, the President’s Committee on Urban Housing and the Governor’s Council for Economic Development. In 1964, Wheeler was appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson to a team of Americans sent to the Republic of Germany to review the progress under the Marshall Plan. During that administration, he was a consultant and lecturer for the State Department in Egypt and Syria, and was the chair of a White House Conference Work Session entitled, “To Fulfill These Rights.” In addition to serving on board of directors of several organizations, including the North Carolina Mutual Life

THE NCCU SCHOOL OF LAW CLASS OF 1947 SAVED THE LAW SCHOOL. FROM LEFT TO RIGHT, (JOHN W. LANGFORD, JOHN H. WHEELER, WILFRED A. KENNEY, JAMES JOSEPH SANSOM, JR., AND THOMAS DAVID PARHAM ON JUNE 2ND, 1947 OUTSIDE OF B. N. DUKE AUDITORIUM)

Insurance Company, Mechanics and Farmers Bank, Mutual Savings and Loan Association, the Mutual Real Estate Investment Trust in New York and the National Corporation for Housing Partnerships, Williams was an active member of St. Joseph’s A.M.E. Church, a 32nd degree Mason and a member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. He was also chairman of the Durham County Library and Lincoln Hospital. He served on the board of Atlanta University and was a member of the board of trustees of Morehouse College, the latter of which awarded him an honorary degree. He also received honorary degrees from Duke, Shaw, Johnson C. Smith, and North Carolina Central Universities. In recognition of Williams’ long service of as a pioneer of civic and economic justice, the John Hervey Wheeler United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina was dedicated in his honor on October 15, 2019. Williams’ colleague Sansom had begun his association with Mechanics and Farmers Bank in 1939 with his first assignment as assistant cashier at Mechanics and Farmers Bank from 1942 to 1947 where he earned two dollars a day. By 1947, he was working as an associate law professor at the Law School, after which time he left in 1952 to become the first African American manager at the Third Street Office of Wachovia Bank and Trust Company in Winston-Salem. Later, in 1958, he returned to Raleigh and accepted a position at Raleigh’s Mechanics and Farmers Bank rose quickly through the ranks and was appointed vice-

VOLUME 23 • SPRING 2021

HISTORICALPERSPECTIVE president-manager and then, in 1967, senior vice president. In 1978, he became president and continued to serve in that capacity until 1983, when he was named chairman of the board of directors. When he retired in 1987, he was named chairman emeritus. The impact of Sansom’s life work in the banking industry at the Mechanics and Farmers Bank after 37 years of service was enormous. The bank was listed as one the top 10 largest Blackowned and -managed banks in the country with total assets of $72 million dollars. It was instrumental in enabling minorityowned firms and businesses to gain capital and helped African Americans gain loans to purchase homes and establish financial stability at a rate unseen in other communities. Like Williams, Sansom was also actively involved in civic and public life in both Raleigh and Durham. In the 1960s, he led efforts to register African Americans to vote in Wake County and served as chairman of the Wake County Board of Elections. In Durham, he served as a director of Union Insurance & Realty Company and Glenview Memorial Park, Inc. and in Raleigh, he worked on the boards of South Gate Plaza Shopping Center and Biltmore Hills Apt., Inc. He was an active member of the North Carolina State Bar Association, a life member of the NAACP and Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., as well as founder of the Meadowbrook Country Club, Inc. He was awarded an honorary degree from St. Augustine’s College in (Raleigh) and received the National Bar Association’s highest honor in 1987 when he was inducted into its Hall of Fame. An examination of the history of the Black presence on Parrish Street, the North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance, the Mechanics and Farmers Bank, and the life’s work of John Hervey Wheeler and Joseph J. Sansom, Jr., is a study of the distinguished contributions of African Americans in Durham as contributors to the physical and financial development, or “upbuilding,” of the district. In the face of Jim Crow, “The Black Wall Street” of America flourished and became a remarkable symbol of race pride, financial capital, and a testament to the ingenuity of the generation.

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THE OFFICIAL PORTRAIT OF JOHN HERVEY WHEELER

THE BOARD OF MECHANICS AND FARMERS BANK, WITH WHEELER AND SANSOM ON THE BACK ROW.

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE FIRST YEAR LAW STUDENTS!

2021 Pinning Ceremony Highlights February 24, 2021

QUICK FACTS: Nearly 400 people logged in to attend NCCU's first virtual pinning ceremony 158 first year students took the Oath of Professionalism, administered by the Honorable Michael Rivers Morgan ('79), Associate Justice, North Carolina Supreme Court Over 45 alumni facilitators led the Professionalism Seminar for the 1L students

THANK YOU! Special thanks to all the speakers and facilitators, including: Dean Browne Lewis, the Honorable Jefferson Griffin, Attorney Melvin F. Wright, Attorney Denaa Griffin ('13), Associate Dean Rhonda DeCambre, Assistant Dean Kia Vernon ('00). Special thanks to the student speakers: Alexis Murray, SBA President, Malcolm Lewis, 1L Class President, Isaiah Milligan-Smith, 1L Day Program SBA Representative, and Zuri Ward, 1L Evening Program SBA Representative. Special thanks to the participants and members of the planning committee: Dean Marsetta Lee, Dean Lisa Morgan, Dean Kia Vernon, Dean Rhonda DeCambre, Staris Best Powell, Mauranda Elliott, Courtney Bryant, Karuna Rekhraj, Elias Brown, VOLUME 23 • SPRING 2021 | 39 Heather Fredericks, and Kimberly Johnson.

STUDENT-CENTEREDSUPPORT

NCCU School of Law’s Legal Pipeline Programs: Increasing Diversity of the Legal Profession One Student at A Time ANGELA GILMORE Associate Dean for Pipeline and Non-J.D. Programs

Law remains one of the least diverse professions in the United States. In fact, in 2020, the American Bar Association (“ABA”) reported that “[n]early all people of color are underrepresented in the legal profession compared with their presence in the U.S.” Law school enrollment also fails to reflect the diversity of the U.S. population. ABA data shows that, in the fall of 2020, Black Americans comprised approximately 8% of the students who were beginning their first year of law school, while making up 13.4% of the U.S. population. The numbers for other communities of color are equally disheartening. Latinx individuals comprise 18.5% of the U.S. population, but only 13% of first-year law students, and Native Americans comprise 1.3% of the U.S. population and just 0.4% of students in their first year of law school. A low number of law school applications from underrepresented individuals is not the reason for the enrollment disparity. AccessLex, an organization that “fosters broad-based access to quality legal education for talented, purpose-driven students and works to maximize the value and affordability of a law degree through policy advocacy, research and student-focused initiatives” reports that law schools offer admission to applicants from underrepresented communities at a lower rate than their White counterparts. According to AccessLex, the following are the law school admission rates for fall 2019: Seventy-eight percent for White applicants, 66% for Asian applicants, 62% for American Indian/Alaskan Native applicants, 61% for Latino applicants, 60% for Puerto Rican applicants,59% for Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander applicants, and just 48% for Black applicants. 40

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The clearest way to increase the racial and ethnic diversity of the legal profession is to increase the number of individuals from underrepresented communities who graduate from law school. A related way to improve diversity is to increase the law school acceptance rate for members of underrepresented communities. Professional pipeline programs have had success in increasing the diversity of certain professions, such as engineering and health care. Some legal pipeline programs are doing the same for the legal profession. There are three main types of legal pipeline programs: awareness-heightening, law school preparation and admissions assistance. The first type is designed to create awareness and interest in the legal profession in students when they are young. For example, NCCU School of Law hosts the Legal Eagle Law Camp. For two weeks during the summer, middle school students are exposed to the field of law by meeting attorneys and judges, visiting a courthouse, participating in a mock trial, and using the NCCU Law Library to perform legal research. Other legal pipeline programs nurture and encourage students who have already identified law as a possible future career. These programs are often designed for high school and college students and provide the participants with resources that will assist them as they contemplate a legal career. NCCU School of Law is putting the finishing touches on its Future Law Students Pipeline Program. The goal of this program is to prepare undergraduate students at NCCU for law school. Through curricular and co-curricular pre-law initiatives, students will acquire information, skills, and knowledge that will benefit them as they complete their education and begin their professional lives. During the Spring and Fall semesters, students will participate in workshops that focus on professional development skills such as time management, resume drafting, networking strategies, and interviewing techniques. During the summers, they will attend camps that introduce them to the study of law and the work that lawyers do. Students will also enroll in an LSAT preparation course and receive assistance as they navigate the law school application process.

identify the weaknesses in their law school applications and to craft strategies that address the weaknesses in their subsequent efforts. For many applicants, this means improving their LSAT score. For others, it means drafting a more authentic and effective personal statement. For still others, it means directing their law school applications to schools that are a better fit for them. The NCCU School of Law’s unique Emerging Technology Leadership (ETL) Program is a pipeline program for applicants denied admission to the NCCU School of Law. Through an agreement with NCCU’s School of Library and Information Sciences (SLIS), these applicants are invited to apply to SLIS’s Master of Information Science (MIS) program. Those who enroll in the MIS program, and who remain interested in attending law school, are provided with assistance with preparing for the LSAT and completing their law school applications. Those who are subsequently admitted to law school are invited to participate in a bridge program designed to assist them with their transition to law school. Participants who subsequently matriculate at NCCU School of Law are recognized as dual degree, J.D./MIS, students. As our mission proudly states, NCCU School of Law “provide[s] a quality, personalized, practice-oriented, and affordable legal education to historically underrepresented students from diverse backgrounds to increase diversity in the legal profession.” Our pipeline programs are just one of the ways that we demonstrate that this mission is more than mere words.

The third type of legal pipeline program targets individuals who have demonstrated a commitment to enter the legal profession by applying to law school, but whose applications have not resulted in offers of admission. These programs are not focused on increasing the number of applications to law school; rather, they aim to increase the law school acceptance rate for members of underrepresented communities. The programs work with initially unsuccessful applicants to VOLUME 23 • SPRING 2021

STUDENT-CENTEREDSUPPORT

Teaching Outside of the (Classroom) Box: Lessons Learned While Teaching Remotely During the COVID-19 Pandemic BY KIA HARDY VERNON Assistant Dean of Academic Success & Associate Professor of Law

“We are the sum total of our experiences. Those experiences—be they positive or negative—make us the person we are, at any given point in our lives. And, like a flowing river, those same experiences, and those yet to come, continue to influence and reshape the person we are, and the person we become. None of us are the same as we were yesterday, nor will be tomorrow.” - B.J. Neblett 42

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In March 2020, law schools around the country quickly transitioned to remote teaching due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Law school professors were suddenly faced with an unprecedented challenge: teaching classes remotely in the middle of a global pandemic. As the virus spread, devastating communities around the world, professors sought to strike a delicate balance between assisting students with the transition to living and learning during one of the worst catastrophic events in one hundred years and ensuring that the students received instruction critical to their success in law school, on the bar exam, and in the legal profession. While teaching remotely has been—and still is—a tremendous challenge, it has also been transformative. I learned about resilience and adapting and my role in not only helping my students to understand the rules and how to apply them, but to assist them to understand their roles and responsibilities as lawyers. The experience had a

profound impact and afforded me the opportunity to grow in ways I never imagined. Although I was the teacher, I also became a student, gaining valuable insight and learning lessons that transcend the virtual classroom. It is because of this experience that I became a better teacher and person. One of the lessons I learned immediately while teaching remotely was: It isn’t the same. Taking the same information and just moving it to an online platform does not produce the same result. It does not matter how great the in-person experience was; it is not the same experience once it is moved online. This led me to be more creative about how I introduce content. I began making short, animated videos and other micro-lectures to introduce content outside of class and discovered new methods to assist students to remain engaged while in class. Some were extremely successful, others were less successful, but the students were exceedingly appreciative of the efforts and provided tremendous feedback. This helped me to learn another valuable lesson: Don’t be afraid to try new things. I became less worried about, “What if it doesn’t work?” and instead became excited by the possibility that it could. Surprisingly, the things that required the least effort elicited the greatest responses. Adding something as simple as a “thumbs up” or “thumbs down” using the reaction option in the online platform helped the students to be engaged and helped me to gauge whether they understood the material. Additionally, I encouraged students to be partners in the process by helping to improve the experience. It wasn’t my class; it was our class, and we all worked to make each class a good one.

selected a representative to share with the rest of the class. They shared myriad adversities of juggling law school while trying to homeschool small children, struggling with isolation caused by the quarantine, and coping with other issues, including the severe illness or tragic deaths of friends and family members who contracted the virus. The students also shared what was working for them during the transition. This allowed others to discover resources and strategies they could use as well. I learned what worked in class—and what didn’t—and received thoughtful responses regarding what I could do to help them. It also allowed me to find and share additional resources to further support them. Finally, this experience once again reminded me of why I work at North Carolina Central University School of Law. It truly is a special place with very special people. During one of the most difficult times in our lives, faculty, staff, and administrators worked tirelessly to ensure that although the virus was upending everything else, it would not deter us from teaching, serving, and supporting our students. As the subsequent racial events demonstrated, our mission is more important now than ever before. As I indicated to the students, without the class, it’s just a room. The classroom doesn’t make it a law school, it’s the students. Post-pandemic, I look forward to returning to the classroom and bringing the lessons I learned with me. Until then, I will continue Zooming through law school and teaching outside of the (classroom) box.

One of the most profound experiences teaching during the pandemic, and in my teaching career, was a day I decided not to teach at all. Although I knew my students were trying their hardest to remain engaged, they were also grappling with the consequences of the pandemic. While switching to remote learning was necessary, doing so without acknowledging how difficult it was for the students only contributed to the problem. I decided to do the unthinkable. I didn’t follow the syllabus. Instead, I took a class period to assess how my students were doing. As an essential part of lawyering was listening to clients to understand their issues, this, I reasoned, was a valuable lesson on empathy. The experience truly changed me. The students were first placed in breakout rooms to answer questions about their experiences over the past months. After they shared with their group members, each group VOLUME 23 • SPRING 2021

STUDENT-CENTEREDSUPPORT

NCCU School of Law’s Summer Start Initiative: Five Weeks Impact Student Success

BY KIA H. VERNON, Assistant Dean of Academic Success & Associate Professor of Law, DOROTHY D. NACHMAN, Associate Professor of Law and DON CORBETT, Associate Professor of Law

“Increasing diversity in the legal profession is critical and voices from the highest echelon of the profession have joined in the chorus demanding greater diversity. Achieving this goal requires admitting more students of color, students from lower socioeconomic strata and students from other marginalized populations into law schools. Schools admitting such students must do so with the understanding that many will be unprepared or underprepared for the rigors of law school and must adopt targeted programs to acculturate students to the law school experience.”1

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Thus introduces the motivation for a group of NCCU School of Law faculty to create a new, innovative program to give incoming law students a jump start on their legal educations with the hopes of increasing their overall success in law school, on the bar exam and beyond. The NCCU School of Law is a school of opportunity whose mission is to reach law school candidates who may have historically been denied access to a legal education. Many of our students are first-generation college graduates and most do not come from families of lawyers. Our students come to law school eager to learn the law, serve their communities and act as role models for younger students in their families and hometowns. All the eagerness in the world, however, cannot alone prepare students for the rigors of law school: case briefing, Socrative inquiry, critical thinking, research, legal writing and professionalism. In many cases, their undergraduate educations have also not exposed them to the level of work, dedication and persistence needed

for success. Additionally, our students often find the transition to graduate level programming in a new city with attendant financial responsibilities an obstacle to their legal studies. In order to combat these numerous challenges experienced by students, Summer Start Initiative (SSI) was created and offered for the first time in the summer of 2016. The Summer Start Initiative brings incoming 1L’s to campus for five weeks, beginning in late June, and allows them to begin their legal studies. The traditional fall semester of 14 weeks is expanded to 19 weeks, but no new coverage is added. The extra time allows for a slower rollout of the material and the introduction of additional skills-based workshops on exam taking, essay writing, time management and critical thinking. At the end of the five-week summer session, students take exams in all their courses and receive grades and feedback upon their return in mid-August to continue their matriculation with the other entering 1L’s. Students earn 4.5 course credits during the summer session consisting of Contracts, Civil Procedure, Property, Legal Writing and Critical Thinking, all of which are taught by full-time faculty members. When students return in August, Criminal Procedure is added. SSI participants are admitted, tuitionpaying students who have access to financial aid and other student resources on campus. The early commencement of their legal studies also allows students to move to the Durham area, find housing and other essentials and build community during the summer when their law school efforts are part-time instead of the traditional student who may move to Durham the first of August and begin a full course of legal studies two weeks later. By the spring semester of their 1L year, SSI students take the same course load as other 1Ls and end their 1L year with the same number of credit hours.

a traditional matriculating student. A more robust discussion of diversity in the legal profession, pre-matriculation programs at other schools, SSI and its results to date may be found in an upcoming publication in the Rutgers Race and Law Review in an article co-authored by Professors Kia H. Vernon, Dorothy D. Nachman and Don Corbett from which the introductory quotation was excerpted. They, who, in addition to Professor Susan Hauser, envisioned the program and have taught in the program along with Professors Shelly DeAdder, Krishnee Coley, Lisa Kamarchik, Lydia Lavelle, Ansel Brown, Todd Clark and Angela Gilmore. The faculty at NCCU School of Law has authorized the continuation of this program and, in addition to our long-established Performance-based Admissions Program, it enhances the opportunities for under-represented law students to attend law school and to do so successfully. Kia H. Vernon, Dorothy D. Nachman, and Don Corbett. Bridging the Gap: Developing Pedagogical Solutions for Underrepresented Law Students, Rutgers Race & L. Rev. (Fall, 2020). 1

Initially, participation in Summer Start was purely voluntary, but over time some participants have been strongly encouraged or required to attend SSI if the admissions staff believes they would be more successful with an early start. The credentials of SSI students are substantially similar to those of August matriculants in terms of LSAT scores and undergraduate grade point average. Since the program was created five years ago, 149 students have started their legal studies through SSI. The typical SSI section has approximately 35 students enrolled. Four cohorts of our SSI students have also taken the bar exam. The 2020 SSI class was, for the first time, fully remote as a result of the pandemic. The results of SSI are promising: both in terms of reducing 1L attrition at NCCU School of Law and bar passage rates. In some years, attrition among SSI participants is half of that of VOLUME 23 • SPRING 2021

FEATUREDARTICLE

Tips to Survive a Pandemic: Recall Beautiful Memories Associate Dean April Dawson and her son on their Amazon Adventure. She reminisces on her Amazon vacation with her son and fellow barrister Alexander. 46

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ALUMNIHIGHLIGHTS

Eagle Soars: India Y. Ali ‘13 Attorney Ali owns a personal injury and estate planning firm in Decatur, Georgia. In addition to her legal practice, she is an investor, basketball coach, artist and philanthropist. Attorney Ali is heavily involved in her community, and currently serves on the board of three nonprofits in metropolitan Atlanta, two of which were organized by fellow NCCU Law alumni Starr Davis (The Starr Institute) and Omari Crawford (Project L.I.F.E.). Attorney Ali financially sponsors sports programs in her beloved Dekalb County and offers collegiate consulting for elite student athletes. Attorney Ali is a proud alumna of NCCU Law’s Performance Based Admission Program (PBAP), which led to her J.D. and she earned her MBA from NCCU in 2013.

VOLUME 23 • SPRING 2021

STUDENTFOCUS

An Admissions Adventure BY SHARON N. GASKIN Assistant Dean of Admissions

During the past year, every facet of our lives has been impacted by the global pandemic. Law school admissions is no exception. COVID-19 has prevented law school admissions professionals from traveling to colleges and universities to recruit prospective students and has disrupted the administration of the Law School Aptitude Test (LSAT). NCCU Law admissions professionals have adjusted to meet the requirements of safety protocols mandated by the pandemic and to provide the same level of service and information to prospective students. Much like Dorothy in The Wiz after she was picked up by the tornado and dropped in the Land of Oz, the Office of Admissions needed to survey the new reality of virtual recruitment created by the pandemic and quickly adjust to meet enrollment goals and benchmarks. Nationwide, the entire admissions landscape has shifted to a virtual platform. The Law School Admission Council (LSAC) administers the LSAT electronically and uses virtual proctors to monitor LSAT takers. During the fall of each admissions cycle, LSAC sponsors recruitment forums in major cities that anchor a region of the country like

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Atlanta, New York City, Houston, Chicago, or Los Angeles. When held in person, these forums would typically have a representative from 180 law schools or more and an average of 1000 prospective students would attend. When COVID took away our ability to assemble safely, LSAC created virtual forums where each law school is assigned a virtual booth to meet with prospective students. By way of comparison, the September forum had 12,450 registrants and 6892 attendees, and the smallest forum was November’s with a registrant count of 7237 and 3664 attendees. The virtual forums were popular with attendees, offering convenient and cost-effective opportunities for applicants to meet with multiple law school representatives without leaving the safety of their homes. Following the success of the fall forums, there was a nationwide increase in law school applicants of twenty percent while NCCU Law has seen an increase of forty percent. That 40% increase in applications is the Yellow Brick Road that will lead to success with recruitment and enrollment for the class entering fall 2021. Like the LSAC forums, American college and universities host law school and graduate school fairs during the fall semester. Career Services offices will invite admissions professionals to their campuses to recruit. Pre-COVID, all of the admissions professionals would be herded into a room to meet face-to-face with prospective students. During the pandemic, the challenge has been to simulate the intimacy

of face-to-face recruitment events while keeping attendees safe. Out of necessity, colleges and universities converted to virtual formats. Just as students have adjusted to having classes online, the shift to virtual recruitment events has been seamless. While the preferred recruitment method is face to face, NCCU Law’s admissions professionals have still been able to connect with prospective students. In addition, Law School admissions professionals have been successful in building relationships with pre-law advisors and have scheduled multiple private virtual visits with prelaw groups at colleges in North Carolina and across the country. NCCU Law admissions professionals have capitalized fully on the flexibility permitted by virtual meetings to build relationships with career services personnel and prelaw advisors to increase the count of law school applications. In addition to attending virtual recruitment events hosted by colleges and universities around the country, the Office of Admissions has also created in-house virtual recruitment events. With the University prohibiting campus visitors, the Law School has designed multiple opportunities for prospective students to schedule a virtual visit. Prospective students can schedule a one-on-one meeting with an admissions professional, observe a virtual class, or attend an open house or Information sessions. Admissions has hosted events during the day and evening hours to attract prospects to both the day and evening programs. There’s even a virtual tour of the Law School that will allow

prospective students to see the Turner Law Building without physically entering the building. For the first time, admitted students have the ability to pay their enrollment fee online. These additions to the admissions process are good and several will likely continue beyond the pandemic. This journey down the pandemic’s Yellow Brick Road has been similar to Dorothy’s quest to find her way home. There have been multiple adventures to find the best technology to communicate with prospective students. From Zoom calls to other technology that has allowed us to remain connected, we have learned that prospects are as likely to communicate from a cell phone as a laptop. We’ve also learned that the interest in law school is high. Prospective students view law school as an avenue to effect change and to confront the inequities that have been brought to the forefront of the nation’s conscience by the pandemic. Until there is a return to face-to-face recruitment, the Office of Admissions will continue to optimize virtual recruitment efforts. I expect that even when in-person recruitment has resumed, like Dorothy when she returned home, we’ll remember the lessons learned during the pandemic and continue some of the best practices to enroll classes in the future.

VOLUME 23 • SPRING 2021

STUDENT-CENTEREDSUPPORT

The Title III Program and its Impact on the NCCU School of Law BY DR. BRENDA R. SHAW Director, Title III

The Title III Program is funded under the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA), as amended, by the Higher Education Amendments of 1986 (and subsequent amendments). The purpose of the Title III Program is to assist eligible institutions in equalizing educational opportunity through a program of federal assistance. Funding That Encourages Legal Eagles to Fly Funding over the past three years has been very significant and has enhanced the Law School’s ability to serve its student population well. Data collection for the formula to allocate HBGI grant award funds under section 326 (f)(3)(a-e) “funding rule” is driven by five elements: 1) The University’s ability to match federal funds with nonfederal funds; 2) the number of students enrolled in the programs for which the eligible institution received funding under this section in the previous year; 3) the average cost of education per student for all full-time graduate or professional students (or the equivalent) enrolled in the eligible professional or graduate school, or for doctoral students enrolled in the qualified graduate programs; 4) the number of students in the previous year who received their first professional or doctoral degree from the programs for which the eligible institution received funding under this section in the previous year, and 5) the contribution, on a percentage basis, to the total number of African Americans receiving graduate or professional degrees in the professions or disciplines related to the programs for the previous year. As a result of such, the following charts show the amount of funding the NCCU School of Law has received for the last three years:

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Activity Number Activity 1

Amount of Funding

Activity Description 2018-2019

$ 81,347

Enhancing Academic Quality

Activity 2

$ 416,105

Enhancing Facilities and Academic Technology

Activity 3

$ 95,000

Enhancing Library Resources and Services

Activity 4

$ 20,211

Enhancing Fiscal Stability (Development Staff Development)

Activity 5

$ 396,538

Enhancing Student Services Outcomes

Activity 6

$ 1,335,988

Scholarships, Fellowships and Financial Assistance (Scholarships, Research Assistance and Tutors, Summer Public Interest Stipends and Internships)

Activity 7

$ 4,150

Enhancing Institutional Management

Total

$ 2,349,339

Activity Number

Amount of Funding

Activity 1

$ 58,697

Enhancing Academic Quality

Activity 2

$ 245,850

Enhancing Facilities and Academic Technology

Activity 3

$ 95,000

Enhancing Library Resources and Services

Activity 4

$ 20,211

Enhancing Fiscal Stability (Development Staff Development)

Activity 5

$ 36,222

Enhancing Student Services Outcomes

$ 1,488,166

Scholarships, Fellowships and Financial Assistance (Scholarships, Research Assistance and Tutors, Summer Public Interest Stipends and Internships)

Activity 6

Activity Description 2019-2020

Activity 7

$ 4,150

Enhancing Institutional Management

Total

$ 1,953,296

Activity Number

Amount of Funding

Activity Description 2020-2021

Activity 1

$ 336,667

Enhancing Academic Quality

Activity 2

$ 178,707

Enhancing Facilities and Academic Technology

Activity 3

$ 100,000

Enhancing Library Resources and Services

Activity 4

$ 17,076

Enhancing Fiscal Stability (Development Staff Development)

Activity 5

$ 16,349

Enhancing Student Services Outcomes

Activity 6

$ 1,527,293

Scholarships, Fellowships and Financial Assistance (Scholarships, Research Assistance and Tutors, Summer Public Interest Stipends and Internships)

Activity 7

$ 4,150

Enhancing Institutional Management

Activity 8

$ 30,212

Future Law Students Pipeline Program

Total

$ 2,210,454

A few examples of financial support the Law School receives from the Title III grant are as follows: The Clinical Legal Education Program The Clinical Program is supported by Title III funds with instructional support that enhances students’ skills which are needed to assist in providing legal services efficiently and in accordance with ethical and professional parameters set by the North Carolina State Bar and the American Bar Association. To that end, the Title III grant provides resources to offer trial practice classes; supports law student competitions in appellate advocacy (moot court), trial advocacy, client counseling, and mediation; provides funding for contracting educational consultants to prepare students for these competitions; and supports students’ travel to compete, including air fare, per diem, hotel, and related expenses.

Scholarships, Fellowships, and Financial Assistance The greatest contribution that Title III funds makes is to provide opportunities for scholarships, internships and financial assistance with the expectation of relieving some of the financial burden of attending law school. Students may receive scholarships, Summer Public Interest internships, and work aid, serving as tutors and research assistants. The purpose of this funding is to increase the number of African Americans who enter the legal profession. If students have the resources they need to cover their financial obligations, they will be able to focus on their studies without having to worry about financing their education. Consequently, the retention, graduation, and bar examination passage rates for African American students at NCCU School of Law may increase. Latest Renovations and Upgrades for the Legal Eagles Newly Renovated Student Study Area

Enhanced Facilities and Technology Title III funds provide the School of Law the opportunity to create a technology user friendly environment where over 90% of the faculty continue to use technology for instructional purposes. Title III funds provide support for all of the Law School’s electronic classrooms and study rooms. Students are able to study and learn and faculty are able to teach, research and provide legal counsel in a technology enhanced and user friendly environment. Enhancing Law Library Resources and Services Title III has provided resources to enhance the Law Library by increasing the number of titles in the collection by purchasing materials in print and electronic formats. Through this support, the Law Library continues to expand and improve its collection to ensure that it supports not only the current curriculum and research needs of students, but future and emerging curricular and research needs as dictated by the curricula. Available funds have also allowed the Law Library to expand its footprint in order to provide a learning environment that enhances students’ research skills and knowledge of legal resources and to purchase advanced teaching equipment and materials, such as iPads and educational software that enables librarians to provide advanced virtual teaching and reference services. Additionally, Title III funds have been used to install the RFID system, which not only detects the unauthorized removal of library materials, but speeds staff charge and discharge, simplifies and speeds patron self-charge and self-discharge, and supports electronic inventorying and shelf searching.

STUDY AREA BEFORE RENOVATION

STUDY AREA AFTER RENOVATION

LIBRARY BEFORE RENOVATION

LIBRARY AFTER RENOVATION

The North Carolina Central University School of Law has truly been impacted by the millions of dollars it has received through the years and continues to make strategic use of the funding allocate to enhance student success. It is anticipated that with these funds, the NCCU School of Law Eagles will soar even higher.

VOLUME 23 • SPRING 2021

STUDENTSCOMPETING ON THE NATIONAL STAGE

NCCU School of Law Moot Court 2021: A Spring Competition Season Like No Other

with professionalism and poise. Ms. Brittain, Ms. Blackmon, and Mr. Huffman, coached by Professor Nakia C. Davis, made it to octo-finals on day two of the Albany competition, finishing in the top quarter — eighth out of 32 teams.

BY PROFESSOR SHELLY DeADDER Associate Professor of Legal Writing

In March of 2020, Norieh Brittain (3LE) and her teammate, Sakeinah Perry (3L) were practicing in earnest for the Charleston School of Law Moot Court Competition, which was scheduled to begin on March 19, 2020. The brief had been submitted and travel plans had been made. On the evening of March 11, 2020, after an afternoon of practicing with their coach, Professor Don Corbett, the team received word that the competition was cancelled due to the recent spread of the coronavirus in the United States. The brief would not be scored and oral arguments would not take place. At the time, the nation was in a state of uncertainty and fear. No one could predict the tragic toll that the virus would take over the coming year. On February 26, 2021, almost a year after her 2020 competition was cancelled, Ms. Brittain and her teammates, Brianna Blackmon (3L) and Matthew Huffman (3L), competed in the Albany Law School Family Law Competition. MATTHEW HUFFMAN (LEFT), NORIEH BRITTAIN (CENTER), AND Like many aspects of life since BRIANNA BLACKMON (RIGHT) March 2020, the competition looked a bit different. For the first time, spring 2021 competitions took place in the virtual world, which created new challenges for all our moot court teams. Team meetings took place via Zoom, as did most practice sessions. Oral arguments also occurred remotely, which meant our teams did not get the benefit of traveling to other law schools and meeting students from around the country. Fortunately, our teams were able to compete “live” from the NCCU School of Law Moot Courtroom. Of course, there were questions like, where do we place the camera? Do we look at the camera or at the screen? Is our coach allowed to be here? Despite the logistical hurdles, our teams navigated the competitions 52

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DYNASIA BALLON (LEFT) AND ANDYNE ANDERSON (RIGHT)

SHATORIA COLEMAN (LEFT) AND DANIEL SWAIN (RIGHT)

On February 26, 2021, Dynasia Ballon (3L) and Andyne Anderson (3L), coached by Professor Dorothy Hairston Mitchell, competed in the Capital University Law School Juvenile Law Competition. Ms. Anderson won the award for Best Oral Advocate in the first round. On March 5, 2021, Shatoria Coleman (3L) and Daniel Swain (3L), coached by Professor Amy Folk, competed in the Howard University School of Law Bryant-Moore Constitutional Law Competition.

Finally, Alton (“Tripp”) Combs (3L) and Jared Donaldson (3L), coached by Professor Kevin Foy, competed in the Fordham University School of Law Securities Law Competition on Friday, March 12, 2021. ALTON COMBS (LEFT) AND JARED Although the 2021 spring DONALDSON (RIGHT) competition season has certainly looked different than in years past, our teams still gained invaluable experience and made NCCU School of Law proud. Congratulations to all our teams!

Reflections on the Adoption Law Moot Court Competition Capital University Child Welfare BY COURTNEY BROWN, 3L

This past weekend I had the pleasure of interviewing my classmates and friends, Andyne Anderson and Dynasia Ballon. They have been working extremely hard over the past couple of weeks preparing for the Winter 2020 National Moot Court Competition in Child Welfare Adoption Law at Capital Law School. NCCU was the only HBCU law school to participate in the competition.

Ms. Andyne Anderson Andyne Anderson, a native of Kennesaw, Georgia, is a third-year law student with an interest in data privacy law. Describing the preparation process for the recent competition as “stressful” and “intimidating,” but also “exciting.” Andyne was recognized as the top oralist from among over 60 students, prompting her to offer shoutouts to Professors Dorothy Hairston Mitchell and Shelley DeAdder for their help in preparation and to her dad for being her “#1 supporter.” Andyne earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Georgia State University.

Dynasia Ballon A member of the NCCU’s Moot Court Board, Dynasia Ballon is a third-year law student from Jersey City, New Jersey. She believes that these competitions builds skills and confidence. She is proud that her partner, Andyne Anderson, won the best oralist for the first day of the competition. She urges law students to become involved in competitions to hone skills for their legal careers. Dynasia received a Bachelor of Arts in English from Hampton University.

Courtney Brown is a third-year law student from Long Island, New York. She obtained her bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Hampton University. Courtney is the Senior Legal Intern working in the Office of Development and a Student Practitioner with limited recognition by the USPTO. Courtney has an interest in Intellectual Property and Civil Litigation.

VOLUME 23 • SPRING 2021

STUDENTSCOMPETING ON THE NATIONAL STAGE

(LEFT TO RIGHT) JULIAN CUTHBERTSON, SORRELL SAUNDERS AND DANIEL ADAMS

NCCU Law School Trio Provides a Play-by-Play Account of an NFL Experience of a Lifetime BY DANIEL ADAMS, SORRELL SAUNDERS, JULIAN CUTHBERTSON

This year’s Tulane Professional Football Negotiation Competition (TPFNC) included more than thirty teams who negotiated virtually from across the nation. The competition was student-led, therefore, we had to coordinate with Tulane School of Law students to plan where and how to conduct the negotiations and review and submit any material questions. Competing in the TPFNC provided the closest experience to actual, real-world negotiation scenarios, particularly within the industry that we so dearly love. We negotiated a series of three player contracts: Dak Prescott (QB), Allen Robinson (WR) and Richard Sherman (CB). Throughout the three rounds, we alternately represented both the team and the player. In the first round, we negotiated against Southern 54

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University as Dak Prescott’s agent. After a short break, we rejoined to face Maryland University in the second round as the San Francisco 49ers organization. We finished our first day, facing Oxford Ohio’s Miami University as the Chicago Bears organization. We encountered judges who were a part of the front office staff from NFL organizations like the Atlanta Falcons and Philadelphia Eagles. The competition provided us with a platform to practice both the skills acquired during our time in law school and our outside-theclassroom knowledge of football. Negotiation theories and tactics which were introduced to us in our negotiation course taught by our coach, Professor Jeff Carmon, were vital to our success at the competition. We enjoyed an advantage this year as compared with previous NCCU teams because we had a member on the team who had previously competed in the competition, coupled with the guidance from our coach. Also, the help of previous team members, attorneys Hashim Sbaiti and Sean Odom, provided us with several opportunities to practice our negotiation skills prior to the competition. Mr. Sbaiti and Mr. Odom, both alumni of NCCU School of Law, displayed their dedication to the Law School and the NCCU’s negotiation team by assisting multiple nights after completing their work day. The competition was in January, but we started our preparation in September. We spent countless hours

researching player comparisons, and practicing opening statements, and rebuttals that were necessary to be successful for the negotiations. We were judged on meeting our objective goals and earned subjective points based on the performance during the negotiation. This year, since the competition was over Zoom, an emphasis was placed on subjective judging rather than simply awarding points for reaching certain contract objectives. We were able to achieve all of our goals in every negotiation and control the conversation, which gave us an opportunity to progress through the competition. Out of the wide field of teams, only eight advanced to day two. Nothing was more exciting than to see NCCU among the likes of Duke, Villanova, and UNC, to name a few, who advanced to the second day. Around 6:00 p.m. the night of the first day, the bracket was released for the final day, indicating NCCU’s advance to the next round. NCCU received the highest seeding in the triangle region, scoring better than Duke and UNC during the first day of the competition. After learning we had advanced to the quarterfinal round, we began preparation for our next opponent, Duke. We had less than 18 hours to prepare contracts, opening statements, player comparisons, and rebuttals for the following rounds—the quarterfinals, semifinals and the final negotiation. Each future round included a new client and a new set of confidential facts and objectives.

help us after school, before offering his contact information to us. We had a total of ten minutes to incorporate the pointers from the previous round before a rematch with Maryland in the semifinal round. The semifinal round was a very close negotiation, but Maryland, the eventual champion, edged us out in subjective scoring. We felt that we did not perform to our standard of excellence, but overall we were grateful for the opportunity to compete and appreciative of the experience. The most important aspect of the competitions was the fact that we were able to learn from and network with NFL front office personnel and NFL position coaches. We received contact information from representatives with the Atlanta Falcons, Philadelphia Eagles, and Dallas Cowboys and others during the two-day competition. Even with this virtual format, we were able to make great professional connections that may be beneficial in the future. This competition is an excellent experience for anyone interested in drafting contracts or working as an agent, or even just gaining negotiation experience in general. Making it to the second day was a prime goal of ours as we sought to establish our Negotiation Program’s reputation for professionalism and effectiveness. Moving forward, we understand that our unprecedented success has raised the bar of for the expectation for future NCCU teams that compete in this competition. We welcome the challenge to continue a tradition of success in this competition and we will work hard to improve our results next year.

During the quarterfinal round against Duke, our hard work and preparation was rewarded. The judge praised our team for controlling the negotiation and gave us great examples of how to approach a real-life NFL contract negotiation. The judge was informative and gave us in depth advice that will VOLUME 23 • SPRING 2021

ALUMNIHIGHLIGHTS

From Humble Beginnings to Entrepreneurial Heights: The Story of David Lee Cook, III ’81 The story of David Lee Cook, III appears in “The Sport Business Handbook,” considered by many to be the most influential sports book written in the last 50 years. Chapter 7, entitled “A Mindset DAVE COOK WITH “THE SPORT BUSINESS HANDBOOK of Authenticity: The First Step in a Successful Sports Business ‘’ HERALDED AS THE MOST INFLUENTIAL SPORTS BOOK Venture,” includes Dave’s story, OR THIS CENTURY. “From Humble Beginnings to PGA Concessionaire.” Jack Nicklaus and Cal Ripken, Jr. are also included in this chapter. Cook ‘s company, the Americana Capital Group, is widely regarded as one of the best in the golf/sports concessions business. From humble beginnings, Cook went directly into the U.S. Marine Corps from high school because he could not afford college. He entered the Marine Corps career and earned the rank of sergeant before he reached the age of 20. He was diagnosed with PTSD and left the military. Cook attended undergraduate school at Los Angeles City College and Pepperdine University. While in California, he had the good fortune to work at Capitol Records, where he met DAVE COOK AND RICHARD many stars, including Natalie WILLIAMS WATCHING VENUS Cole, Nancy Wilson and Peabo AND SERENA COMPETE AT THE US OPEN. Bryson, the latter of whom he considers a close friend to this day. When his dear mother became ill, he returned to North Carolina where he entered the NCCU School of Law. Cook said that he regrets that she did not live to see him walk across the stage to accept his law degree, but remains grateful to Professor Charles Smith and Daniels Sampson and Dean Harry Groves for their support and encouragement in his darkest days.

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As a father and husband, his resources were limited and he needed to earn more income. According to Cook, when he discovered that sports concessions/merchandising was DAVE COOK AND WIFE FRAN a S400 billion business and that WHO ARE BOTH KNOWN FOR DAVE AND FRAN’S SOUL FOOD. no Black-owned businesses were involved, he started a small a sports marketing venture and began work with the Atlantic Coast Conference. He remains thankful to then-Commissioner Gene Corrigan, his advisor Jon LeCrone and assistant Fred Barakat, who gave him an opportunity to be a part of the Tournament. He was fortunate to receive many other opportunities because his friendship with high profile coaches, such as Duke University coach Mike Krzyzewski. His ultimate break came when his relationship with the owners led to a concession contract with the National Football League’s Carolina Panthers. He then expanded his career to include golf concessions and even horseracing, providing services to the Kentucky Derby. When the National Basketball Association formed the Charlotte Hornets, said Cook, he was the sole minority company hired and was offered a concession partnership. He remains DAVE COOK AND BILLIONAIRE honored to cater for Hornets AND DALLAS MAVERICKS owners Michael Jordan and Bob OWNER MARK CUBAN AT THE NBA ALLSTAR GAMES IN 2019. Johnson and is proud that the partnership introduced him to Hornets President and Chief Operating Officer and fellow NCCU School of Law alum Fred Whitfield.

DAVE COOK AT THE TOURNAMENT OF THE ROSES, PICTURED IN FRONT OF THE ROSE BOWL.

As he reflects on his journey to countless venues (including 17 trips to the NCAA’s Rose Bowl), many connections with the rich and famous, and his passion for his company, he thinks, “Unbelievable.”

Alumni Mock Interview Program Launched February 2021 In Spring 2021, several NCCU School of Law alumni expressed an interest in helping law students build their interview skills. The NCCU Law Alumni Association collaborated with the Office of Career Services and Professional Development and launched a mock interview program for the law students. The virtual interviews were offered during day and evening hours to accommodate busy schedule of both the alumni and students. Students were able to register online for the 30-minute slots. The effort was spearheaded by alumni Bianca Williams (’15) of the Greenvillebased AFFC Law Firm, who mobilized over a dozen Legal Eagle alumni to participate. “I count it as an honor and privilege to give back to my law school in this manner. I remember the alumni support I received as a student and I BIANCA WILLIAMS, ‘15 always vowed to pay it forward. The African proverb, “Each one, teach one” embodies my ‘why’. I am so thankful to have a network full of Legal Eagles that feel the same!” Those efforts have not gone unnoticed by law school administrators who say it’s a challenge to connect the students and alumni during a nationwide pandemic. Associate Dean of Students Rhonda DeCambre said, “These alumni are invested in the student’s success – they know the stress and challenges of law school, and are volunteering time out of their day to help our students achieve their career goals. We are very grateful and consider this a win-win for all involved. Students

are interviewing remotely for jobs they will work remotely. Working with our alumni is helping them respond to the new normal of the legal job market.” So far, over 35 law students have benefited from the Mock Interview program, including four 1L students, who worked with alumni Sonny Haynes (‘10) partner with law firm of Womble Bond Dickinson. All four students were selected as finalists in the Minorities in the Profession (MIP) legal internship SONNY HAYNES, ‘10 program and received and accepted job offers from law firms and corporations for Summer 2021. Haynes said the “during the mock interviews, all of the students were well-prepared and professional – a testament to the guidance and support they are receiving from all of you at the Law School.” The nine law students who participated in the North Carolina Legal Internship Program were also prepared through the alumni Mock Interview Program. Third-year law student Destiny Smith said she “was excited for the opportunity to work on my interview skills and connect with alumni. However, I gained more than just interview tips from Attorney [Bianca] Williams; I also gained a mentor.” In addition to attorney Williams, other alumni participated in this program including: Chassidy Barham. Kayla Britt, Freddie Cruz, Ray Griffis, Alex Gwynn, Sonny Haynes, Nicole Jones, Charles M. Kunz, Tiffany Lawson, Jasana Levy, Karen Lewers, Pooyan Ordubadi, Joshua Richardson, Shana Wynn-Rushing and Casiya Thaniel. Undoubtedly, Destiny speaks for many of her classmates when she says, “As I am thankful that alumni such as Attorney Williams are so eager to give advice and extend a helping hand in making sure our future is bright.”

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ALUMNIHIGHLIGHTS

Incubating Legal Practices for Justice: The Durham Opportunity and Justice Incubator BY MARK ATKINSON 20’

Attorneys graduating from NCCU’s School of Law are often faced with two choices: work at an established law firm or go into public interest. Those are good, legitimate options but some legal Eagles either want to create their own legal practice out of an entrepreneurial instinct or they have to create their legal practice out of necessity. The Durham Opportunity and Justice Incubator (DOJI), launched in October 2020 by Mark Atkinson1 (‘20), exists to provide a viable alternative career option for attorneys who are justice-minded and need support in creating a financially sustainable legal practice. DOJI equips entrepreneurial attorneys with practical business and legal skills to create legal practices that directly address the access to justice gap. For the newly licensed attorney, DOJI acts as a supportive bridge from the safe confines of law school to serving clients in local courthouses and offices. On that supportive bridge, a new attorney learns the business and legal skills to crawl, walk and then run with his new practice. For the experienced attorney who has worked at a firm and is ready to start her own practice, DOJI is a runway to launch her new firm. To be clear, DOJI is not a law firm. DOJI is an incubator – a supportive environment – for participating attorneys to build their 58

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own justice-minded independent legal practices. To accomplish DOJI’s mission, participating attorneys must be justiceminded, financially savvy, and innovative. Justice-minded attorneys understand the need to improve access to justice and, accordingly, create practices that serve modest means clients. Modest means clients often go without adequate legal representation. These individuals or families make too much money to qualify for legal aid but not enough to hire a traditional law firm. At DOJI, modest means clients are those whose household income is between 125% and 400% of the federal poverty limit. This is a family of four with a household income of roughly $32,000 to $105,000. DOJI attorneys are not prevented from serving higher-income clients. However, if a DOJI-associated attorney focuses exclusively on high-income clients, then she no longer conforms to DOJI’s mission. Conversely, DOJI attorneys are encouraged to fill gaps in service to clients when Legal Aid is understaffed or unable to fill by going beyond the standard professional expectations of pro bono service. DOJI attorneys must be financially savvy to create financially sustainable legal practices. A DOJI attorney serving modest means clients must be able to make a living. In law school, a student is taught The Law, but is rarely taught how to run a business. The twelve-month DOJI program includes training sessions on business topics such as entity formation, growing a client base through marketing and legal referral services, website design, client intake, budgeting, taxes, and pricing of services. One helpful session is a panel discussion with established solo

practitioners discussing how they launched and grew their practice. In this session, the panel gives practical answers to questions such as: What is your most effective marketing tool? What practice management software do you use? When and how did you become financially sustainable? What bank do you use? How do you do client intake? Who does your taxes? How did you develop your billing rates? The training program also includes access to free training through the Practicing Law Institute. While DOJI cannot guarantee financial success for every participating attorney, DOJI is constructed to provide access to tools and training that make it more likely. The final characteristic of DOJI attorneys is that they must be innovative, embracing technology to optimize efficiency. Legal tech companies have created tools that greatly benefit solo practitioners and small firms: document automation, scheduling, digital legal references and resources, online payments services and numerous practice management packages. With the proper tech tools, an attorney can better manage her time, multiply how many clients she can serve and increase her sources of revenue. Many of the legal tech vendors provide discounts or free access to DOJI-participating attorneys. For example, Clio will provide its Clio Manage practice management software with related online payment features for free for 12 months to DOJI attorneys. This offer will save an attorney over $1,000 in her first year of practice. In addition to leveraging new technologies, a DOJI attorney is encouraged to deliver and bill for legal services in creative and innovative ways, including avoiding hourly billing where possible, implementing fixed fee pricing, exploring subscription services and providing unbundled services. Fixed pricing is often beneficial for modest means clients because the client knows exactly how much they are going to pay. Unbundling services and limited representation can make legal services more affordable by dividing what is best performed by an attorney from what a client may do themselves. Similarly, subscription services create a way for clients (e.g., small business owners) to access representation or legal advice for a fixed monthly fee. DOJI’s long-term vision is to be a thriving community that accomplishes its twin mission of creating new opportunities for attorneys and improving access to justice for the community in Durham. The business opportunity is real and the need to improve access to justice in Durham is urgent. The community needs entrepreneurial attorneys who are justice-minded, innovative, and financially savvy. Is this for you?2 1 Prior to law school and launching DOJI, Mark Atkinson was a Principal at Kimley-Horn and Associates, a consulting engineering firm. Mark lives in Durham with his wife, Helen. When not working on DOJI, Mark’s interests include pro bono work, serving on the board at DurhamCares.org, reading, hiking/running and meeting new and old friends over coffee. 2 For additional information about the DOJI program, contact mark@doji.lawyer or visit www.doji.lawyer. Be sure to visit the profile of RS Legal Group at the DOJI website. RS Legal Group was formed by Michelle Schalliol (’20) and Cameron Redd (’20) with support from DOJI.

MARK ATKINSON AND HIS WIFE, HELEN, HIKING AT GRANDFATHER MOUNTAIN

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ALUMNIHIGHLIGHTS

NCCU School of Law Alumnus Patrick Hannah Heads the Corporate Roundtable for the National Black Caucus of State Legislators and Raleigh Durham Airport Authority Patrick Hannah ’00 is currently serving as the Chairman of the Corporate Roundtable for the National Black Caucus of State Legislators, a position previously held by Durham’s own Benjamin Ruffin. He represents over 105 companies/ organizations for 700 legislators representing 70 million constituents across the country. He has also recently been elected the Chairman of the Raleigh Durham Airport (RDU) Authority. The Airport Authority is a local government entity responsible for the development, operation and maintenance of RDU Airport. Nationally, Hannah served in the Clinton White House and the Office of Legal Counsel during the impeachment trial. Patrick has worked professionally on local, statewide and national campaigns for former Durham mayor Bill Bell, former White House Chief of Staff Erskine Bowles and Senator John Edwards, respectively. Hannah has spent the last two decades serving the local and state community before taking on the roles with the Corporate Roundtable and Airport Authority. Locally, he served our community fighting for civil rights as Vice President of the Durham NAACP. He has been an advocate for strong public education and a parent of a teenager with special needs and for early childhood education as a Member of the Board of Directors for the Durham’s Partnership for Children. He also worked for high-quality public transit as Chairman of the Durham Area Transit Authority. In addition, he serves on the Trust Bank Advisory Board and is the Chairman of the Arkansas Earthquake Authority in his birth state of Arkansas. His most recent professional experience includes the role of senior counsel for a Fortune 70 Company. He also has experience in higher education, having served here at his alma mater as special assistant to the chancellor, successfully passing their 20-year master plan. Mr. Hannah earned his B.A. in history from Morehouse College.

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Meet Preston Mitchum ’11 Preston Mitchum chose to study law to challenge the notion that all laws are morally right simply because they’re “the law.” Mitchum states, “If we just rested on the laurels of ‘well, that’s the law,’ then nothing would change because no one would force it to change.” For Mitchum, the recognition that the law is not always moral and often is rooted in systems of oppression is directly tied to his advocacy work. Mitchum was named 2021 Rockwood Reproductive Health, Rights, & Justice Fellow. This fellowship brings together 24 leaders across the nation, an exciting cross-section of the movement that spans different strategies, demographics, and regions. It is designed to give leaders an opportunity to delve deeper into their leadership development and build stronger partnerships for a greater impact on the reproductive health, rights and justice movement. Mitchum is a Black queer attorney, advocate, and activist with a focus on the power of Black people, young people and queer, trans, and non-binary people. With nearly a decade of legal and policy experience, he develops reproductive health, rights, and justice policies and strategies as the policy director with URGE: Unite for Reproductive & Gender Equity, a young people’s Reproductive Justice organization based in Washington, D.C. with staff in six states: Ohio, Kansas, Alabama, Georgia, Texas, and California. Preston is an adjunct professor of law at Georgetown University Law Center and teaches LGBTQ Health Law & Policy. Mitchum serves as co-chair of the board of directors of Collective Action for Safe Spaces, is the co-chair of the social justice committee for the National Bar Association Young Lawyers Division, and was the first openly LGBTQ chair of the Washington Bar Association Young Lawyers Division. Mitchum is also an accomplished author publishing both scholarly work and social commentary for many outlets and law review journals including The Atlantic, MTV News, Think Progress, Huffington Post, William & Mary Journal of Woman and the law, North Carolina Central University School of Law’s Biotechnology & Pharmaceutical Law Review, and others. In 2020, Mitchum was named one of the 40 Best LGBTQ+ Lawyers Under 40 by the National LGBT Bar Association. He holds a LL.M in law and government from American University College of Law, a J.D, cum laude, from North Carolina Central University School of Law, and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, cum laude, from Kent State University.

VOLUME 23 • SPRING 2021

ALUMNIGIVING A survey I administered approximately ten years ago disclosed that many university students were $30,000 to $40,000 in debt because of the costs of education loans. According to The Washington Post, within the past year, Howard University, Hampton University, Morehouse College and Spelman College have received the lion’s share of gifts given by noted philanthropists. We must redouble our efforts as alumni to expand the brand of NCCUs so that all of our students benefit from corporate sponsorship. Indeed, we are proud of the recent $5 million commitment by Intel for the next five years to enhance the Center for Technology Law and Policy. We are equally thankful to those creating endowments like the Diageo endowment.

Why I Support HBCUs

BY FRANK S. TURNER Retired Vice-Chair, Ways and Means Committee, Maryland General Assembly Professor Emeritus, School of Business, Morgan State University

Fifty plus years ago, I arrived at North Carolina College the summer of my freshman year. I was only 16 years of age and was somewhat frightened and did not know how I would fare in college. My father told me he was only paying for four years and firmly advised me that I’d “better finish on time,” which I did. As a former police officer and later the assistant director of state personnel, his words reminded me to maximize the opportunities presented. I often remembered his words and I pursued my career goals.

Each of us has a role to play. Small, consistent donations are critical to any organization. I have augmented my efforts to support institutions that educate our youth. According to the Department of Education, Office of Civil Rights, there are 107 HBCUs — 56 institutions of which are private and 51 are public. The future of some of these institutions may be at risk if substantial dollars are not invested in new and innovative programs, existing viable programs and allocated to improve physical plants. These institutions need our financial support to remain competitive and to survive I started an endowment as a seed and legacy of giving and giving back. The business community want to see alumni invest their dollars in their institutions. Individual investment encourages businesses to open their pocketbooks even wider. I want to do my part and I am urging alumni to include donations to NCCU in their annual budgets and estate planning. I challenge alumni to even create an endowment fund within the Law School that will serve as a leg up to many first generation lawyers. I owe North Carolina Central because I was provided a great education, a loving family, a productive career, and many lifetime friends.

The overall cost to attend my first year was about $900. A lot has changed since my freshman year. Today, tuition and fees cost is $6500 a year. Add books, room and board, and the cost jumps to $25,000. The source of funding to operating a public institution generally comes from federal funds, state funds, and some local funds, and tuition and gifts to the institution. Students take out substantial loans to pay tuition. Many of these student loans require payments to begin within six months of graduation. Repayment of these loans can delay college graduates’ ability to buy a home and/or deny them needed investment capital. 62

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ALUMNUS FRANK TURNER ENJOYS QUALITY TIME WITH SONS AND GRANDSON. LEFT TO RIGHT: HAROLD (SON), TRAVIS (SON), TERRENCE (SON), FRANK SR., GRANT (GRANDSON) FRANK II (SON) AND BRANDON (SON)

Sarah Jane Brinson ’09 Sarah Jane Brinson, 37, passed away on Friday, March 12 at Vidant Medical Center after a month-long fight against COVID-19 double pneumonia. Sarah is survived by her parents, Doug and Annette Brinson of Arapahoe, North Carolina; her brother, Jack Brinson of Columbia, Maryland; her sister and brother-in-law, Mary Kate Brinson Parrish and Jacob of Greenville, North Carolina; her nephew, Jackson Parrish; her niece, Emma Kate Parrish; and her dog Sadie. Sarah graduated from Pamlico County High School in 2002. She then earned in 2006 a B.S. in political science and a B.A. in Hispanic studies. In 2009 Sarah graduated from North Carolina Central University with a J.D. degree. She owned and operated Brinson Law in Clinton, North Carolina until she returned home in 2020 to be closer to her family. She then taught American Government at Pamlico Community College. Sarah’s love of her family, many friends, her ECU girls, and of Bethany Christian Church was boundless. Sarah was always positive in her attitudes toward people and life. She was always able to find the good in life’s situations, help others, and to be loyal to her friends. She loved to travel to different countries and share in their cultures. She was known as “the documenter” among her family and friends as she captured in photos life’s important events, both big and small.

Ola M. Lewis ’90 Superior Court Judge Ola M. Lewis, 54, died Sunday, Dec. 29, 2019 at her home in Bolivia after a two-year battle with a rare form of liver cancer. Judge Ola grew up in Spring Lake, North Carolina, and later her family moved to Brunswick County. She followed in her father’s footsteps, graduating from Fayetteville State

University before attending North Carolina Central Law School, where she graduated in 1990 with a J.D. She worked one year in private practice with then became North Carolina Speaker of the House before returning to her Brunswick County home to serve as a county prosecutor. In 1993, only two years after returning home, Judge Ola was appointed district court judge, the youngest judge serving at that time in North Carolina. She would serve in this role for seven years before being appointed by former North Carolina Governor Jim Hunt in 2000 to serve as a special superior court judge. She traveled 21 counties in this role, telling friends and family her motto was, “Have gavel, will travel.” The longest serving female judge in the history of North Carolina, Judge Ola remained on the bench until her death. In her 19 years on the superior court bench, she served as special superior court judge, resident superior court judge and senior resident superior court judge. During her time as judge, she fostered the county’s drug treatment court, helping hundreds of residents find sobriety and reduce inmate population and costs. Her drug court program created a national template that has since been used in other effective drug court programs throughout the United States. In 2017, she began the Brunswick County Opioid Addiction Task Force with Sheriff John Ingram. The task force’s charge was to raise awareness about opioids’ negative impacts on people, families and communities. In this role, Judge Ola encouraged Governor Roy Cooper to declare the opioid addiction crisis a statewide public health emergency. In 2018, for this and her many other accomplishments, Gov. Cooper awarded her the Order of the Long Leaf Pine. In 2010, the Honorable Governor Beverly Perdue awarded her the Old North State Award. In 2017, the Honorable Josh Stein, Attorney General for the State of North Carolina presented Judge Ola the Dogwood Award for her “dedication to keeping people safe, healthy and happy in their communities.” She is survived by her loving husband of 16 years, Reginald Holley; mother, Doris Lewis; brother, Cliff Lewis, and his wife, Donna; and sisters, Peggy Walker and Pam Lewis. She is also survived by many beloved family members as well as a host of friends.

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ALUMNIHIGHLIGHTS

Dean’s Note NCCU School of Law Donors In 2020-2021, the North Carolina Central University School of Law benefitted from generous corporate and nonprofit donors. Those donors provided needed resources to help us to provide opportunities for our students to be successful. Because of our location in Research Triangle Park, we are at the forefront when it comes to legal technology. In light of our history of being technology-conscious, we decided to establish the Center for Technology Law and Policy. Establishment of the Center will enable us to achieve our goals of educating our students using technology and exposing our students to the technology that is changing the practice of law. Intel Corporation committed $5 million dollars to grant us the resources we need to employ faculty and staff to operate the Center, to enrich our students with scholarships, and to endow a named professorship. Moreover, Intel Corporation provided paid internships for three of our students. The School of Law has a history of educating students from underrepresented populations. Our mission is to encourage those students to give back to the community. One ways our students contribute is to participate in public interest internships in the summer. Through our internship program, our students are able to work at organizations that provide legal services to low-income persons. In the summer of 2021, we received funding to pay our students who engaged in public interest internships from the following organizations: Duke Energy Foundation, John Paul Stevens Fellowship Foundation and the Peggy Browning Foundation. We received funding for two of our students to participate in a paid fellowship program from the African American Ancestry Network LexisNexis Rule of Law Foundation. In an attempt to diversify the field of Animal Law, the Animal Legal Defense Fund provided a $25,000 scholarship and an internship for one of our students. We would like to publicly thank these organizations for providing financial resources to help our Eagles soar.

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Donor Honor Roll

Bond Circle

Donor Honor Roll list reflects annual gifts made between October 1, 2019 and December 31, 2020. The Donor Honor Roll is NCCU School of Law’s opportunity to thank alumni, friends and partners who have demonstrated their support of the Law School’s mission to provide a high quality, personalized, practice-oriented and affordable legal education to historically underrepresented students from diverse backgrounds in order to help diversity the legal profession. Your generosity increases scholarships offerings for students, provides funds to support scholarly endeavors for faculty, augments academics programs, and enhances current facilities. Your contributions are crucial to maintaining and enriching the NCCU Law experience.

Monte D. Watkins ’84 Kia D. Hardy-Vernon ’93 UBS Financial Services, Inc. Atiba D. Adams ’96 Milton A. Tingling ’82 Grady Jessup ’74

Dean’s Circle Bond Circle 1930 Club Barristers Eagles’ Court Maroon & Gray Club Supporters

$10,000 & up $5,000- $9,999 $2,500 - $ 4,999 $1,000- $2,499 $500 - $999 $100 -$499 $1- $99

To the best of our knowledge, the information in this Donor Honor Roll accurately reflects our record of all gifts made during the reporting period. However, we acknowledge that omissions or errors, while regrettable, may occur. If you discover any inaccuracy, please notify the Office of Development at (919)-530-5244 or email ncculawdevelopment@nccu.edu

Dean’s Circle Smith/Shaver Law School Scholarship Fund, Inc. John T. Caldwell Frank S. Turner ’68 Irving Joyner Maurice R. Smith ’05 Marvin D. Genzer The Law Office of Darrell Lee Robinson Reuben Young

1930 Club Training Resources Group, Inc. Renee L. Bowser ’82 Stephen G. Hartzell The Law Office of India Y. Ali, LLC Chandler Law Firm, P.A. Ronald S. Douglas ’82 Aaron L. Spaulding ’64 Hon. Keith E. Bell ’88 Laurie N. Robinson-Haden ’94 Danielle T. Bennett ’99 Frachele Scott ’04 Frasier & Griffin, PLLC 1st Atlantic Surety Co. Melodee Henderson Core S. Cotton

Barristers Tamila V. Lee ’99 Phyliss V. Craig-Taylor James R. Hill ’75 Norman Butler ’74 John Pettit Yolonda Joiner ’15 Nichelle Perry ’97 Ronald S. Patterson Carolyn B. O’Garro-Moore ’87 Kelvin J. Atkinson ’03 David A. Green Gerald L. Walden Jr. ’01 Community Foundation for Northeast Florida Mr. Ralph Frazier, Sr. William G. Pagan ’14 Lawrence T. McPhail ’06 John W. Perry ’85 Malik C. Edwards VOLUME 23 • SPRING 2021

DONORHONOR ROLL Mark D. Locklear ’96 Sonya M. Allen ’99 Cheryl E. Amana-Burris Robin M. Barefoot ’85 Rickey McCurry ’84 Rossie D. Alston Jr. ’82 Mary E. Wright Paul L. Jones ’74 William P. Tonkins ’69 Jason B. Crump ’97 Pamela Young ’85 Robert H. Bembry III ’88 Jennifer Jacques ’08 Iris P. Green ’01 P. Wilks ’96 John B. Carter Jr. Tammy D. Nicholson ’99 Dominique Camm ’09 India Y. Ali ’13 Deyaska S. Spencer ’13 Daniels and James, LLC Jawara K. Lumumba Rita L. Howard The Deyaska Spencer Law Firm

Eagles’ Court Avery M. Crump ’97 James H. Faison III ’84 James M. Webb ’76 Damian L. Tucker ’98 LaToya C. Merritt ’00 Lynn M. Burke ’10 National Christian Foundation-Joseph Mitchiner Dorothy H. Mitchell ’99 John M. Logsdon ’95 Gregory W. Clinton Sr. Arlene D. Hanks ’96 Susan E. Hauser Kimberly C. Grainger Tyrone R. McClean Cory Williams Adrienne L. Meddock ’91 Tamikiyo Watters ’17 Sonny S. Haynes ’10 Arien P. Cannon ’11 Latrice N. Lee ’12 Fred J. Williams Joyvan L. Malbon ’09 66

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Bethaney Embry Jones Esq ’08 Suntrease W. Williams-Maynard ’08 North Carolina Bar Association Foundation Ralph K. Frasier Jr. ’94 Sharon Turner ’95 Frederick W. Fleming ’01 Angela D. Graham McIver ’96 Candace B. Ewell ’00 Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund - Karen Prus & Mr. Lewis Carson Gale M. Adams ’84 William C. Johnson Jr. ’97 Wilton B. Hyman ’92 Kimball H. Hunt ’74 Julia W. Taylor ’09 Noreen O’Donnell Law Office of Alesha Lewis, LLC The Law Offices of Chimeaka L. Greenwood, PLLC

Maroon & Gray Ariel E. Harris Roberson ’13 Timothy J. Peterkin ’01 Regina R. Parker Lisa A. Kamarchik ’06 Shelly B. DeAdder Debra Lemonds Aubrey Turner, Jr. Nina E. Olson ’91 April G. Dawson Staris B. Powell ’93 Frederick C. Hutchinson Steven D. Forbes ’16 Stacey L. Carless Sommer J. Murphy ’08 Valeria B. Thomas ’01 Gennell R. Curry ’97 Lydia E. Lavelle ’93 Paula Wordsworth ’93 A.R. Edmondson ’76 Stanley G. Sheats ’80 Brenda D. Gibson ’95 Dorothy D. Nachman Leah Rackley Khadeeja Mullard-Clements Eloise Rivers Roland C. Draughn III ’04 God-Is Ike ’10 Hellina Y. Hailu Nnamdi C. Ekeh

Molly Brewer ’14 Jowanda E. Jones ’12 Ana S. Nunez ’14 Phylicia M. Powers ’11 Edward L. Hedrick IV ’17 Stephen Yank Linda Spink Richberg Law Elizabeth Ann Hill ’84 Sandra J. Hairston ’87 Edward M. Anderson Sr. ’76 James C. Dockery ’80 William A. Dudley Sr. ’76 Jennifer A. Calcagni ’98 Kristopher B. Gardner ’02 Jennifer Lee ’01 Mitzi Kincaid ’06 Bruce T. Margulies ’01 Anne C. Wright ’10 Casiya Y. Thaniel Dayo O. Aladeniyi ’13 Landon Pannell ’12 James A. Dunham ’12 Phillip J. Parker, Jr. ’10 The Crescent Law Practice Wilson Williams Law, PLLC Wilma J. Gormley Chua Lo-yang ’18 Chikaodili E. Anyikire ’16 William Dudley Jr. ’08 Constance T. Foster ’92 LaShawn S. Piquant ’98 Elaine M. O’Neal ’84 Ira L. Foster ’88 Arrington B. Booker ’10 Alfred Bates Edward D. Salt Jasana A. Levy ’19 Mauranda O. Elliott Stacy M. Scott Eli Sotomayor Jennifer D. Best Elias E. Brown II Krishnee V. Coley ’00 Marion J. Weaver Jr. ’70 Pamela S. Glean ’80 Clifton Stancil ’69 Andrea M. Leslie-Fite ’07 Paula K. McGrann ’01 Tia M. Brown ’01

Supporter A’Sheika L. Penn ’98 Bryant A. Norman ’01 Susan Goetcheus ’06 Schwab Charitable Fund, Martin Kaplan Loren L. Holland ’08 Anita L. LeVeaux-Quigless ’86 Stephen O. Russell ’76 Susan F. Olive The Honorable Cy and Rosiland Grant Sr. ’81 Rogerline W. Stewart-McKenzie ’66 Lewis B. Lawrence ’76 Vincent P. Maltese ’69 Debra K. Quigley ’84 Timothy L. Coggins ’84 Kevin G. Montgomery George E. Pruden II ’81 Wanda E. Allen-Abraha ’91 Charles H. Holmes ’75 Samantha R. Russ ’09 Jonathan Wilson ’09 Adrina G. Bass ’09 Amy U. Oraefo ’10 James R. Allen ’11 Charles C. Blanton ’11 Sarah B. McPherson ’16 Endia S. Paige ’12 Sidney O. Minter ’11 Sarah J. Becker ’11 Alicia R. Daniels-Lewis ’91 Nicole Corley Michael Dunn Mark Atkinson Jonl C. Herman Scott A. Loomis Denise Farley First Chronicles Community Church Okorocha Law, PC Omololu Edun Leslie Locke Craft, Attorney-at-Law Graeme Frelick I. Kathleen Alison Paul Purnell Margaret Morehouse William P. Tonkins, Jr. ’17 Michael A. Boykin ’18 David E. Spencer Alicia M. Davis ’16

VOLUME 23 • SPRING 2021

DONORHONOR ROLL Barbara L. Henry ’16 Marsetta Lee Ortharine Williams ’94 Bahiya A. Lawrence ’12 Taittiona M. Miles ’13 Nikia J. Wilson ’13 Tonya N. Davis-Barber ’11 Minerva J. Mims ’11 Jonathan James ’06 Pauline Hankins Saprina Brown Taylor ’96 Ulysses Bell ’76 Deborah M. Mayo-Jefferies ’76 Meredith A. Shuford ’97 Ty Ink Promotions Yelena Kay ’10 Kinna N. Clark ’14 Chimezie T. Okobi ’11 Potso Byndon Obieze Mmeje ’12 Dale A. Williams Jr. ’10 Jennifer Y. Baker ’10 Stanley Lee II ’09 Rita P. Henry ’07 Marcus A. Shields ’11 Tiffany M. Whitfield ’11 Christina Llewellyn Hilary C. Delbridge Ashley Benefield Silvina Tondini Phyra McCandless Chadwick E. Boykin ’15 Soraya M. Watkins ’17 Lisa Sutton Janice P. Paul Tracy H. Barley ’93 Victor Motley ’81 Detrece A. McMillon ’85 Dale L. Thomas Jr. ’09 Kia V. Harvey ’08 Trasha N. Hickman ’02 Matthew R. Banks ’08 Nancy E. Gordon Camille D. Banks-Prince ’01 Kelvin D. Allen Sr. ’02 Belinda A. Smith ’85 Hayley M. Lampkin Blyth ’19 Kathryn Mincher Tamala Choma Matthew Ciannamea 68

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Jaweria Y. Jamal ’15 Gregory L. Rouse, II ’15 Alyssa M. Levine Khalil C. Eaddy ’16 Meredith R. Stone Stephen Thompson Anitra Barrett Patrick R. Crawford Augustus Forte, III Kevin Stokes

VOLUME 23 • SPRING 2021

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A TRIBUTE TO CONGRESSMAN JOHN LEWIS “When you see something that is not right, not fair, not just, you have to speak up. You have to say something; you have to do something.” - John Lewis

Of Counsel Magazibe Volume 22/Spring 2021

Articles inside

Memorials

Why I Support HBCUs — Frank S. Turner

Dean’s Note NCCU School of Law Donors

NCCU Law School Alumnus Patrick Hannah Heads the Corporate Roundtable for the National Caucus of State Legislators and Raleigh Durham Airport Authority

Meet Preston Mitchum ‘11

Incubating Legal Practices for Justice The Durham Opportunity and Justice Incubator — Mark Atkinson ‘20

Alumni Mock Interview Program Launched February 2021

From Humble Beginnings to Entrepreneurial Heights: The Story of David Lee Cook, III ‘81

NCCU Law School Trio Provides a Play-by-Play Account of an NFL Experience of a Lifetime — Daniel Adams, Sorrell Saunders & Julian Cuthbertson

Reflections on the Adoption Law Moot Court Competition Capital University Child Welfare — Courtney Brown, 3L

NCCU School of Law Moot Court 2021 A Spring Competition Season Like No Other — Professor Shelly DeAdder

Dr. Brenda R. Shaw — The Title III Program and its Impact on the NCCU School of Law

Sharon N. Gaskin — An Admissions Adventure

Eagle Soars: India Y. Ali ‘13

Teaching Outside of the (Classroom Box: Lessons Learned While Teaching Remotely During the COVID-19 Pandemic — Professor Kia H. Vernon

NCCU School of Law’s Summer Start Initiative: Five Weeks Impact Student Success - Professors Kia H. Vernon, Dorothy D. Nachman, & Donald W. Corbett

Race and Place: The Upbuilding of Hayti and Black Wall Street — Andre D. Vann

NCCU School of Law’s Legal Pipeline Programs: Increasing Diversity of the Legal Profession One Student at A Time — Associate Dean Angela A. Gilmore

NCCU School of Law’s First Marketing Campaign — Mitzi Townes

RJR Nabisco Endowed Chair — Professor Reginald Mombrun

John D. Fassett Professorship Endowed Chair — Dr. Malik Edwards

Charles Houston Endowed Chair — Professor Irving L. Joyner

“Bloody Sunday” History, Legacy and Continuing Need — Professor Irving L. Joyner

Continuation of Interview: Professor Cheryl Amana Burris & Attorney John L. Burris

A Change of Perspective — Alexis Murray, SBA President

COVID-19, Ethics, and The Law — Sheila M. Parrish-Spence

Eagle Soars: Fenita Morris - Shepard Named Chief Legal Counsel of NCCU

Transition in Chaos — Chip Baggett ‘16

To Patent and Serve — Kia C. Bell

Interview: Professor Cheryl Amana Burris & Attorney John L. Burris

Message from the Dean

Tribal Governance in the Midst of the “Storm” — Joshua Richardson ’20

Technology Initiative — Associate Dean of Technology and the Law April G. Dawson

NCCU School of Law Alumnus’ Eyewitness Account of the Development of a COVID-19 Product — Emily Hales

Alumni Highlight: Sheila R. Spence