GREENSBORO, NC (WFMY) -- A North Carolina legal legend that shattered racial barriers throughout his career is now the recipient of Elon Law's 'Leadership in the Law Award!
The award is Elon Law's highest professional Award.
Chief Justice Henry Frye was the first African American to serve as chief justice of the Supreme Court of North Carolina and the first African American elected to the state legislature in the 20th century.
Frye received the award during an October 17th banquet in Greensboro with many of the state's top legal leaders in attendance.
“Chief Justice Henry Frye is a worthy recipient of Elon Law’s Leadership in Law Award simply for the titles that he has held and the doors that he has opened,” Elon Law Dean Luke Bierman said in presenting the award. “We know these facts and we know that the United States of America, North Carolina, and we as individuals are better for Henry’s leadership in breaking down doors.”
“Henry Frye is one of a kind, a leader who would be the first to declaim that nomenclature. Yet, we who know his contributions to nation, state and community, who know his commitments to family and friends, who know his character and temperament, know that Henry Frye has led us to being better about ourselves. That is unique and special and a mark of true leadership.”
For over six decades, Chief Justice Frye has spearheaded movements to ensure equal access to justice in North Carolina.
• Serving as the first African-American chief justice of the Supreme Court of North Carolina from 1999-2001
• Serving as the first African-American justice of the Supreme Court of North Carolina, a position he assumed in 1983
• Winning election to the North Carolina General Assembly in 1968, the first African-American to do so in the 20th century
• Helping to lead a nonpartisan committee of retired North Carolina jurists dedicated to nonpartisan redistricting and the advancement of civic participation
Through Frye's great contributions as a jurist, civil rights activist, state legislator, and educator; he has inspired generations of young people to use their education for the betterment of society!
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