Chambers, Julius L. (Julius LeVonne), 1936-2013

Variant names

Hide Profile

Born in Mount Gilead, North Carolina, in 1936, veteran civil rights lawyer, activist and educator Julius L. Chambers was influenced by the racial intolerance he saw growing up in a rural community east of Charlotte. After graduating from high school in 1954, he entered North Carolina Central University, where he graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. in history and was president of the student body. He then attended the University of Michigan, earning an M.A. in history. Chambers began law school at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1959, where he became the first African American editor-in-chief of the school's law review. Upon graduating in 1962, Chambers ranked first in his class of 100 students. He went on to earn his LL.M. from Columbia University Law School in 1964.

Chambers became the first intern with the new NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund (LDF) in 1963. Subsequently, in June 1964, he opened his own practice in Charlotte, which eventually became the first integrated law firm in North Carolina. Together with his founding partners, James E. Ferguson II and Adam Stein, this firm is credited with influencing more landmark state and federal legislation in school desegregation, employment and voting rights than any other in the United States. Together with lawyers of the LDF, they helped shape civil rights law by winning benchmark United States Supreme Court rulings such as the famous decision ofSwann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education(1971), which led to federally mandated busing, helping integrate public schools across the country. Chambers and his team also won in two of the Supreme Court's most monumental Title VII employment discrimination decisions,Griggs v. Duke Power Co.(1971) andAlbemarle Paper Co. v. Moody(1974).

In 1984, Chambers left his firm to become director-counsel of the LDF. Under Chambers' leadership, the organization fought for civil rights legislation and affirmative action programs that began in the 1970s and 1980s. Remaining devoted to education, however, he returned to his alma mater, North Carolina Central University, where he served as chancellor for eight years. Chambers published numerous books, teaches at various law schools, and was a member of many boards and organizations.

Chambers passed away on August 2, 2013 at age 76.

From The HistoryMakers™ biography: https://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/A2002.220

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
creatorOf Chambers, Julius L. (Julius LeVonne), 1936-. Papers, 1902-1975, 1964-1975. University of North Carolina, Charlotte, J. Murrey Atkins Library
referencedIn Elwood, William A. Papers of William A. Elwood, 1984-1989. University of Virginia. Library
referencedIn Graham, Frank Porter, 1886-1972. Frank Porter Graham papers, 1908-1990. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
referencedIn Simkins, George C., 1924-2001. George C. Simkins papers, 1950-1975. North Carolina A&T State University, F.D. Bluford Library, Ferdinand Douglass Bluford Library
creatorOf Chambers, Julius. The Bill of Rights, the Fourteenth Amendment and the Supreme Court. Columbia University in the City of New York, Columbia University Libraries
creatorOf Associated Black Charities. Correspondence with Marian Anderson, 1987-1988. University of Pennsylvania Libraries, Van Pelt Library
creatorOf Chambers, Julius L. (Julius LeVonne), 1936-. Donald C. Samuels lecture : affirmative action and the myth of 'reverse discrimination' : the meaning of the Constitution [sound recording] / Julius L. Chambers. Sarah Lawrence College, Esther Raushenbush Library
referencedIn Elwood, William A. William A. Elwood Civil Rights Lawyers Project collection [manuscript], 1984-1989. University of Virginia. Library
Role Title Holding Repository
Relation Name
associatedWith Associated Black Charities. corporateBody
associatedWith Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education corporateBody
associatedWith Elwood, William A. person
associatedWith Graham, Frank Porter, 1886-1972. person
associatedWith Sarah Lawrence College. corporateBody
associatedWith Simkins, George C., 1924-2001. person
associatedWith Swann, James E person
Place Name Admin Code Country
Charlotte (N.C.)
Mount Gilead (N.C.)
United States
North Carolina--Charlotte
Subject
Affirmative action programs
Busing for school integration
Civil rights
Constitutional history
Discrimination
Reverse discrimination
Occupation
Civil Rights Lawyer
Activity

Person

Birth 1936-10-06

Death 2013-08-02

Birth 19361006

Death 20130802

Male

English

Information

Permalink: http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w690225f

Ark ID: w690225f

SNAC ID: 25556383