2010 McMillan Fund Dinner

April 22, 2010, 6 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.

Byron's South End, 101 West Worthington Avenue

Featuring Former Charlotte Observer Editor Ed Williams and the

Presentation of the Chambers Diversity Champion Award

The McMillan Fund's annual fundraiser dinner offers the logical setting for the Mecklenburg County Bar's Julius L. Chambers Diversity Champion Award. The Award celebrates those who have made a significant contribution to diversity and equal opportunity in our community. The first-ever Diversity Champion Award honoree was the distinguished civil rights attorney Julius L. Chambers, who represented the successful plaintiffs in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school desegregation case. The presiding judge in the case was the late James B. McMillan, whose memory the McMillan Fund honors. The Chambers Diversity Champion Award and the McMillan Fund celebrate the example of both men, who, at considerable personal cost, played a critical role in dismantling racial segregation in Mecklenburg County.

This year's Dinner features remarks by former Charlotte Observer Editorial Page Editor and friend of Judge McMillan, Ed Williams. Mr. Williams will offer a multi-media remembrance of Judge McMillan and his times. 

This year's Diversity Champion Award is being presented posthumously to Judge Clifton E. Johnson. The award celebrates Judge Johnson's years of selfless service to the State and people of North Carolina, his promotion of equal opportunity, and his own path-breaking career (culminating in his service on the North Carolina Court of Appeals)-- as the first African American assistant state prosecutor since the 19^th Century; and his judicial service as Mecklenburg County's first African American District Court Judge; and the first African American Chief District Judge, Resident Superior Court Judge, and Chair of the Judicial Standards Commission.  

Since its establishment in 1995 as a separate fund of the charitable Mecklenburg Bar Foundation, the McMillan Fund has supported justice and innovation within our local legal system by awarding law students summer fellowships in not-for-profit and governmental agencies. Forty-four Fellows have been awarded fellowships to work at such local agencies as Legal Services of Southern Piedmont, the Mecklenburg Trial Court Administrator's Office, Council for Children's Rights, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the U.S. District Court, the U.S. Attorney's Office, International House, Office of the Public Defender, and the Mecklenburg County District Attorney's Office.

For more information about the Fellowship Fund and how you may support the program, please contact Randy Phillips at 704/331-1048.

Deadline to register for this event was April 16, 2010.  Questions?  Contact Director of Foundation Development Leah Reed at 704/375-8624 or lreed@meckbar.org.