FAMU To Unveil Plaque to Honor 57 Original Law School Graduates

By Press release submission

Sep 1, 2022

Florida A&M University will unveil a plaque honoring the 57 original College of Law graduates at 2 p.m. Friday, September 9, 2022.

The unveiling will take place on the north end of the Coleman Library building on the Tallahassee campus, home of the original law school, which operated from 1951 until 1968. Among the graduates of the original law school are former judges, a former U.S. congressman, a former Florida Secretary of State, a former state senator, and other dignitaries. Former state Senator Arthenia Joyner is one the last surviving original graduates.

“The FAMU College of Law’s legacy is engraved in the annals of our state and our country through the accomplishments of the initial 57 graduates of the program. They have set extraordinary examples for generations to follow, including “Rattlers for Justice” and anyone motivated by service,” said President Larry Robinson, Ph.D. “This plaque will memorialize our original graduates and inspire current students to similar acts of selfless courage.”

This unveiling event takes place as FAMU Law celebrates its 20th anniversary in Orlando. The plaque unveiling is part of Rattlers for Justice Day at FAMU. This is an opportunity for law school students, faculty, and staff to visit the main campus in Tallahassee and share in the rich tradition of the “Highest of Seven Hills.”

“The original law school graduates paved the way for those who attend FAMU Law,” said Deidré Keller, dean of FAMU Law. “We are thankful for our original alums, their accomplishments and the legacy of transformative service they established, which we endeavor to continue.”

The story surrounding these graduates and the law school is unique. FAMU’s law school is the only one of the six HBCU law schools currently in existence that was opened, shutdown, and re-opened.

When Florida Gov. Jeb Bush signed legislation on June 14, 2000, authorizing a College of Law at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, high expectations were set for the new law school. The College’s opening in Fall of 2002 in Orlando was heralded as an opportunity to right a wrong and diversify the legal profession. The enabling legislation stated that the College would be “dedicated to providing opportunities for minorities to attain representation within the legal profession proportionate to their representation in the general population.

For more information about the FAMU College of Law, please visit law.famu.edu.

List of graduates from the original Florida A&M College of Law:

Remus Charles Edison Allen

Jennings Henry Best

Thomas DeLano Broadwater

Richard Burdine

August Fahnwula Caine

Timothy Castell

Gwendolyn Sawyer Cherry

Allen Turner Clark III

Henry Austin Collins Jr.

Lorenza Collins