Bill Text: VA SJR166 | 2018 | Regular Session | Enrolled
Bill Title: Commending Clarence M. Dunnaville, Jr.
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-1)
Status: (Passed) 2018-03-07 - Bill text as passed Senate and House (SJ166ER) [SJR166 Detail]
Download: Virginia-2018-SJR166-Enrolled.html
WHEREAS, Clarence M. Dunnaville, Jr., was honored at the Virginia Law Foundation's 2017 Fellows Dinner for his trailblazing career as an attorney and a champion for Civil Rights and equality; and
WHEREAS, Clarence Dunnaville was an early member of the Civil Rights movement, participating in sit-ins as a student at Morgan State University in the 1950s; he was inspired to pursue a legal career and graduated from Saint John's University School of Law in 1957; and
WHEREAS, in 1963, Clarence Dunnaville participated in the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, and in 1967, he traveled with the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law as a volunteer attorney to Mississippi, where he fought legal efforts to preserve segregation in the state; and
WHEREAS, Clarence Dunnaville was the first African American attorney hired by the Internal Revenue Service, then was appointed as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York; and
WHEREAS, Clarence Dunnaville was also the first African American lawyer hired by AT&T, and ably served the company in the United States and throughout the world for 25 years; in 1991, he came to Richmond to join the law firm of his close friend and Civil Rights icon Oliver W. Hill, and he continues to practice law in the city, including extensive pro bono work; and
WHEREAS, over the course of his 50-year legal career, Clarence Dunnaville has lectured on a wide variety of topics, authored numerous articles on social justice and legal reform, and has mentored and inspired countless other young lawyers; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED by the Senate, the House of Delegates concurring, That the General Assembly hereby commend Clarence M. Dunnaville, Jr., for his exceptional achievements as an attorney and a Civil Rights advocate; and, be it
RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the Senate prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to Clarence M. Dunnaville, Jr., as an expression of the General Assembly's admiration for his contributions to the Richmond community and the Commonwealth.
