The Impact of Black Bar Associations: Paul C. Perkins Bar Association
The Impact of Black Bar Associations: Paul C. Perkins Bar Association
In honor of Black History Month, RumbergerKirk is featuring the importance of Black Bar Associations in our communities. Many of these organizations honor prominent Black attorneys who played pivotal roles in the Civil Rights Movement and paved the way for today’s Black attorneys. The Paul C. Perkins Bar Association plays an important role in the Central Florida community.
Paul C. Perkins Bar Association
The Paul C. Perkins Bar Association (PCPBA) promotes the advancement of African Americans in the legal profession, educates the Central Florida African American community about the legal system and promotes reform and improvement in the law to aid the administration of justice. Originally founded in 1981 as the Orlando Chapter of the National Bar Association, the organization was renamed to honor Central Florida civil rights advocate Paul C. Perkins, Sr. in 1986.
About Paul C. Perkins
A World War II captain and graduate of Howard University Law School, Paul C. Perkins, Sr. was admitted to practice law in Florida in 1950. He moved to Orlando in 1951 becoming the second African American attorney to serve the area. He served as co-counsel to Thurgood Marshall and Jack Greenberg of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund defending the “Groveland Four,” the four African American young men wrongly accused of raping a Lake County woman in 1949. Appointed the first African American City Prosecutor for Orlando in 1965, Perkins was also a lifetime member of the NAACP and served on interracial committees created in the 1950s and 1960s to help integrate public facilities in Orlando. The organization strives to honor his work and memory.
PCPBA Provides Important Networking Opportunities
“As a new resident of Orange County, becoming a member of the Paul C. Perkins Bar Association has allowed me to meet and connect with Orlando’s legal community at large, while also allowing me to pursue my passion for mentoring law school students. Through the association’s dynamic programming, I’ve been able to meet members of the state and federal judiciary and attend workshops that have helped me grow as a young attorney,” said Orlando attorney Reggie Guillaume.
Providing community and support is an extremely important role of Black Bar Association, especially when considering that Black attorneys make up just 5 percent of all attorneys, according to the ABA Journal’s 2022 National Lawyer Population Survey.
Visit the Paul C. Perkins Bar Association website to learn more.
