Living as a biracial child adopted into a biracial family. Being a child in a family that integrated a previously all-white Seattle neighborhood. Helping organize students at this college to combat South African apartheid.
These experiences and many more informed your understanding of race in society; all of them contributed to your determination to devote your life to equality and justice.
In remarks after taking your oath as associate justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court, you said that even as a young girl, you came to believe that it was your responsibility to “find a way to bring us all together, show us all our shared humanity and guarantee equal opportunities to all.”
And so you litigated civil rights cases in the South, served as deputy assistant attorney general for civil rights and directed the Voting Rights Project at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. Later, you founded and ran the nonprofit Southern Coalition for Social Justice.
Through it all, you built a reputation as one of the most influential and successful civil rights litigators in the nation. You focused particularly on voting rights, including exceptional cases on racial gerrymandering and voter suppression. You built considerable prominence, too, in education and employment law, environmental justice and police accountability.
You also said at your 2019 swearing-in that your personal commitment was “to serve justice with a strong heart.” That commitment is consistent with the way you’ve lived your entire life.
In recognition of your distinguished achievement in promoting equity and justice through your work in law and government, Williams College is proud to honor you with its Bicentennial Medal.