Half a century after the judicial verdicts that redefined education, the University Law School honored civil rights lawyer Oliver Hill Sr., whose work helped make the integration of schools possible.
Hill?, a Virginia native and renowned civil rights law activist who passed away last month, was honored by the Center for Study of Race and Law in a panel discussion and award ceremony at the Caplin Auditorium Thursday.
Hill is known for his work on cases such as Brown v. Board of Education and the desegregation of University graduate programs and Charlottesville public schools.
In the discussion and ceremony, several members of the University community discussed Hill's accomplishments.The panel was composed of former University President Robert O'Neil, History Prof. Claudrena N. Harold and the honorary Henry L. Marsh III, a state senator, the first black mayor of Richmond and former partner of Hill's at the firm Hill, Tucker & Marsh.
Accompanying the panel discussion was the first presentation of the Oliver W. Hill Sr. Lifetime Achievement Award, which was accepted by Hill's son Oliver Hill, Jr, on behalf of his father.
"This is the highest award from the center," said Timothy Lovelace, assistant director of the center. "The person who receives this embodies a commitment to social justice."
Lovelace said Hill's reputation as the "premier" civil rights attorney in the Commonwealth made him a "natural fit" for the award.
Although this year's award was given to Hill, the panel and award ceremony will be an annual event.
Hill Jr., psychology chair at Virginia State University, said his father would want the award and ceremony to encourage others to address the injustices they see in the world.
"My father would be very happy to receive this honor from an educational institution," Hill said. "He would see this as an opportunity for his vision to be forwarded to inspire change. [My father] always encouraged people to be empowered as individuals. He had a strong belief that a few people could bring about change in the world, which is what he did."
Hill Jr. noted that this commitment to social change is evidenced by his father's accomplishments, which include the "Lawyer of the Year Award" in 1959, the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Clinton in 1999 and the Spingarn Medal, the NAACP's highest honor.
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