or thirty-seven years, Professor Irving L. Joyner has embodied North Carolina Central University School of Law’s spirit of service and sacrifice. Though he is one of the longest-serving faculty members at NCCU, Professor Joyner does not consider himself special. Over his tenure at NCCU, he has seen many changing points in the school’s history, including the growth of The Legal Clinic at NCCU. Professor Joyner has long served his community by taking a plethora of civil rights cases, including employment discrimination, voting rights, and police misconduct cases. Currently focusing on voting rights cases, which he finds personally satisfying because of the high success rate in voting rights litigation. One of the most important cases that Professor Joyner contributed to was the Wilmington 10 case. This case covered nearly forty years but was worth the time and effort because the surviving victims were awarded compensation.
We Got to Keep On Pushing AN INTERVIEW WITH PROFESSOR IRVING L. JOYNER
12 | NCCU SCHOOL OF LAW • OF COUNSEL MAGAZINE
The self-satisfaction that Professor Joyner derives from his work makes up for the sacrificed required to do civil rights work. Often, he receives little to no financial compensation for his efforts. Civil rights work, however, has its peculiar compensation. Professor Joyner knows that he strove on behalf of people who deserve to be represented and have their voices heard. Often the victims of discrimination never have their stories told, and many individuals are satisfied with having their day in court