Quantcast
Channel: Blog
Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 4

Civil Rights Attorney Julius Chambers Dies

0
0
Julius Chambers died on Friday night in North Carolina.  Chambers was a civil rights attorney and leader who dedicated his life to fighting for equal rights and justice in the south, and all over America.  He started his own law firm - the first to be 'integrated' in North Carolina - after graduating first in his class from law school.  He later went on to become Director of the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, a position previously held by Thurgood Marshall before he moved on to the Supreme Court. Chambers was 76.

I had the honor of taking a civil rights litigation seminar Chambers taught in the evening at my law school.  He would take the train from NYC to Philly to teach the class after putting in a full day at the office.  He was often tired by the time he got there -  he even fell asleep and missed his stop once.  But it was important to him to share what he had learned in the many battles he had fought during his long ceer, and to teach us students what it took to win, and why the fight was so important, especially when it seems like you are losing and victory is impossible.  Chambers never gave up. Ever.

He was a quiet man, unassuming and gentle.  He rarely raised his voice.  And he held animosity toward no one.  Yet his car had been firebombed, his house had been firebombed, and his law office had been burned to the ground.  He took eight cases to the Supreme court and won every one of them, including cases after Brown v. Bd. of Edu. further desegregating pubic schools and public school sports.  Did I mention that he never gave up?    

Chambers was dedicated not just to achieving equality, he was a fierce defender of everyone's civil rights, even those who would have hated him:
Once Chambers sent Watt to Lumberton in Robeson County to defend protestors charged with resisting arrest and assaulting an officer.

“I get down there,” Watt said, “and I find that these are Native Americans who’d been carrying tomahawks and demonstrating because they didn’t want to go to school with black kids.”

Back in Charlotte, a confused Watt asked Chambers: “Why in the world did you send me to Lumberton to defend people who were against going to school with black kids?”

“Julius never looked up,” Watt recalled. He said, ‘Don’t you believe in the First Amendment? Don’t you believe in free speech?’ ”

Please take a moment to read his full obituary at the link below, to note his passing, and to honor a life dedicated to the cause of freedom, justice and equality.  You will be glad you did. And remember the lesson that has stayed with me since I sat in his classroom over twenty years ago:  Never give up the fight. Especially when it seems you/we are losing.  Each generation has to fight the battle anew, and, Chambers believed, each individual has a civic duty to carry that battle forward.  

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/...


Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 4

Latest Images

Trending Articles





Latest Images