In 1980, Justice Lloyd Brown, Hon. Stephanie Tubbs Jones, and Judge Ronald B. Adrine '73 met in the chambers of Judge Brown to discuss the formation of an African American Bar Association. Soon after, in the Hollenden House Hotel coffee shop, Lillian Greene, James Hardiman '68, Gerald Jackson, and Adrine met to plan what would be an historic meeting. That meeting took place on March 14, 1980 at the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law. Over 100 prominent African American Cleveland lawyers met that day to form Cleveland's first African American bar association, the Norman S. Minor Bar Association (NSMBA). It grew out of the merger of four African American professional groups and was named in honor of one of Cleveland's foremost trial attorneys,Norman S. Minor '27.
Congressman Louis Stokes '53 (who with brother Cleveland Mayor Carl B. Stokes '56 became law partners with Minor), once said, "Norm Minor was probably the greatest criminal lawyer in the history of our state. Charisma , beautifully modulated voice. He could mesmerize a jury. Judges were fascinated by him. And I don't care how long a case took-two months, six months-he never took a note. Never. And he never missed a point in any trial."
Last Friday afternoon, I had the privilege of attending the NSMBA Annual Trailblazer Luncheon with some of my C|MLaw colleagues- Professor Lolita Buckner Inniss, Professor Browne Lewis, Gina Huffman, Assistant Director of Admissions, and students Taurean Shattuck , President of the C|M|Law Black Law Students Association (BLSA), Tiffany Henderson, President of the C|M|Law Student Bar Association (SBA), Kelynn Carter, Shashelia Degraffinried, Anastasia Elder, and Sarah Mancuso.
Also attending were Chief Magistrate Judge Gregory Clifford '80, President of the Cleveland-Marshall Law Alumni Association and Past President of the NSMBA, and many other prominent C|M|Law Alumni. We are very proud that most of the past NSMBA Presidents and Trailblazer Award recipients are graduates of C|M|Law, including the first President, Judge Ronald B. Adrine '73. Most of the current NSMBA officers are C|M|Law Alumni, including Brandon Cox '2012, First Vice President; Lon'Cherie Billingsley '2012, Treasurer; Karrie Howard '2007, Recorder; and Darlene White '2000, Immediate Past President.
As the ABA Presidential Report on Diversity notes, law is one of the least racially diverse professions in the nation. Although Blacks, Latinos, Asian Americans and Native Americans now constitute about a third of the population and a fifth of law school graduates, they make up fewer than 7 percent of law firm partners and 9 percent of general counsels of large corporations. In major law firms, only 3 percent of associates and less than 2 percent of partners are African Americans.
At C|M|Law, Diversity Matters. Our mission to train culturally competent lawyers requires that our hallways and classrooms reflect the diversity of our society and the clients and communities our graduates will serve. We are committed to developing and coordinating initiatives designed to recruit diverse students, faculty, and staff and to promote and maintain an inclusive law school environment. As my wife, Peggy Zone Fisher, the President and CEO of the The Diversity Center of Northeast Ohio, often says, diversity is “not an add-on but an add-in.” We must make sure that diversity and inclusion are integral to everything we do. Our legendary alumnus, Norman S. Minor '27, would expect no less.