Honoring Black Lawyers Who Paved the Way

This Black History Month, as I reflect on our YLD theme for this year, Breaking Barriers, I am reminded that every barrier I break stands on the foundation of those who came before me. As a proud graduate of North Carolina Central University (NCCU) School of Law, and the first Black woman to serve as Chair of the NCBA Young Lawyers Division, I carry with me the legacy of North Carolina’s Black legal pioneers who fought for the right to practice law, argue in court and serve on the bench in a state that once denied them entry altogether.

I chose “Breaking Barriers” as my theme this year because I know firsthand what it means to walk through doors that others fought to open. At NCCU Law, I was shaped by professors like Titichia Mitchell Jackson and Gerald Walden, who are mentors who did not stop teaching when the semester ended. Years later, I can still pick up the phone, call them on their personal cell and seek their guidance. That kind of investment in a student’s future is something you cannot put a price on, and mentorship is a tradition that stretches back to the very founding of NCCU’s law school. That same spirit of mentorship lives within the NCBA. In previous years, I have had the privilege of presenting at various law school’s 1L orientations, including at UNC and NCCU Law, alongside NCBA President Rob Harrington, former NCBA President Clayton Morgan and former YLD Chair Jonathan Bogues. Standing with them in those classrooms, while encouraging the next generation of lawyers at the very institutions that shaped me, is a powerful reminder that breaking barriers is not something we do alone. It happens when those who have walked the path before us reach back and bring others along.

The Pioneers Who Made It Possible

The history of Black lawyers in North Carolina begins shortly after the Civil War, when the 1890 census revealed only fourteen Black lawyers lived in the entire state.[1] Among the earliest was James Edward O’Hara, regarded as the first Black lawyer in North Carolina, admitted to the bar in 1868 and later elected to two terms in the U.S. Congress.[2] George H. White, born into slavery in 1852, also served two terms in Congress and is remembered as the last Black congressman of Reconstruction.[3]

In 1888, Shaw University in Raleigh established the first law school for Black students in the South, graduating fifty-four students before closing in 1914.[4] After a twenty-five-year gap, the General Assembly passed House Bill 18 in 1939, establishing a law school at what is now known as North Carolina Central University School of Law.[5] Today, NCCU School of Law remains one of only six American Bar Association (ABA)-accredited, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) law schools in the nation.

The trailblazers who emerged from North Carolina institutions are staggering in number.

  • Julius Chambers (NCCU, UNC Law) became the first Black editor-in-chief of the UNC Law Review, founded the first integrated law firm in North Carolina, and argued landmark civil rights cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, such as Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education, which supported school busing for desegregation.[6]
  • Chief Justice Henry Frye (NC A&T, UNC Law) became the first Black Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court.[7] Chief Justice Frye was also the first African American elected to the NC General Assembly in the twentieth century. The first bill he introduced was a constitutional amendment abolishing the literacy test.[8]
  • Judge Elreta Melton Alexander (NC A&T) became the first Black woman licensed to practice law in North Carolina and the first Black woman elected as a District Court judge in our state.[9]
  • M. “Mickey” Michaux Jr. (NCCU, NCCU Law) was the longest serving member of the NC House of Representatives upon his retirement and served over four decades in the General Assembly.[10]
  • Justice Mike Morgan (Duke, NCCU Law) was elected to the North Carolina Supreme Court in 2016 after more than two decades on the trial bench.[11]
  • Justice Patricia Timmons-Goodson (UNC, UNC Law, Duke LLM) became the first African American woman to serve on the North Carolina Supreme Court in 2006 and, as former Dean of NCCU School of Law, helped prepare the next generation of lawyers at the very institution built for this purpose.[12]
  • Chief Justice Cheri Beasley (Duke LLM) made history as the first African American woman to lead the North Carolina Supreme Court as its Chief Justice.[13]

Breaking Barriers Today

These pioneers did break barriers by opening doors, and increasing access to justice, but their work is not finished! The NCBA’s Minorities in the Profession (MIP) Committee continues to build on their legacy through mentorship programs and the Legal Legends of Color Awards. This year, the YLD’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) committee has partnered with MIP to put commitment into action by co-sponsoring events like legal trivia night. Additionally, on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, young lawyers gathered at the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina and helped sort 17,000 meals, a reminder that service to our communities is at the heart of what it means to break barriers.

Our Call to Action

Black History Month is not simply about looking back. It is about understanding that the courage of those who came before us lives on in every courtroom we enter, every client we serve and every barrier we break. This history belongs to every lawyer who has practiced or will practice in North Carolina, and keeping this legacy alive is a responsibility we all share.

So, what can we do? We can (i) mentor a law student through our signature Grab-a-Coffee program; (ii) show up at the annual law student networking reception; (iii) volunteer for pro bono work in underserved communities; and (iv) support committees like MIP and YLD’s DEI committee that are building the pipeline for diverse attorneys. Most importantly, don’t be afraid to share your story, because a young lawyer somewhere needs to see that someone who looks like them has walked this path. Lastly, when you break a barrier, no matter how small, reach back and bring someone with you.

I am thankful for the legends who paved the way and mindful of the legacy that will come behind me. The law students sitting in classrooms today will one day be the lawyers, judges and leaders who carry this work forward. As we continue to do the work of the YLD, the question is not whether barriers remain; it is whether we will be the ones to break them.

Sheila Renee Spence is the 2025-26 chair of the North Carolina Bar Association Young Lawyers Division.

[1] Kenneth Lewis, “The History of Black Lawyers in North Carolina: Circa 1987,” The North Carolina State Bar Journal, vol. 28, no. 2 (Summer 2023), 6.

[2] Lewis, 7.

[3] Lewis, 7.

[4] Lewis, 7.

[5] “So Far: 60th Anniversary,” North Carolina Central University School of Law (1999), 10.

[6] “Julius Levonne Chambers,” NAACP Legal Defense Fund.

[7] “Henry Frye: First African-American on the N.C. Supreme Court,” North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, 3 Feb. 2016.

[8] Lewis, 9.

[9] “2021 Legal Legends of Color: Judge Elreta Melton Alexander,” North Carolina Bar Association, 17 Aug. 2021.

[10] “Mickey Michaux ’64 Receives State’s Highest Civilian Honor,” NCCU Law, 17 Nov. 2022.

[11] “Michael Morgan,” North Carolina Judicial Branch.

[12] “Former North Carolina Supreme Court Associate Justice Patricia Timmons-Goodson Appointed NCCU School of Law Dean,” North Carolina Central University (2023).

[13] “Cheri Beasley Takes Oath of Office as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court,” North Carolina Judicial Branch, 7 Mar. 2019.