Claflin University News March 9, 2011 Claflin University Trustee Emeritus Judge Richard E. Fields Honored by Center for Heirs' Property Preservation Judge Richard E. Fields, trustee emeritus on the Claflin University Board of Trustees, was recently honored at a Charleston reception where he received the inaugural Commitment to Justice Award from the Center for Heirs' Property Preservation. Fields is known as a visionary in the annals of South Carolina legal history. In 1949, he graduated from the Howard University School of Law and then opened a law office in Charleston - the first to do so since the 1900s. Historically known as the first black litigator in Charleston, he reportedly is also the first black judge ever elected to serve in the Southeast. The Charleston City Council first elected him as a municipal judge in 1969. Fields remained on the bench until his retirement in 1992. During his 23 years as a judge, he also served as a judge on Charleston County's Family Court and the Circuit Court of South Carolina. He started his tenure of the Claflin Board of Trustees in 1957. Fields has served as chair of the Nomination Committee. Upon leaving the Board, he was bestowed with the distinction of trustee emeritus. Today, Fields remains an active member of the Executive Committee of the Board. During his time on the board, the University has undergone vast improvements with a strengthened faculty and academic programs, increased endowment and expansion of the physical plant. Fields and his late wife, Myrtle, established the Richard E. Fields and Myrtle E. Fields Scholarship at Claflin in 1992. The Center for Heirs' Property Preservation is a non-profit organization that protects low-income heirs of property in the Lowcountry. During the reception, former Chief Justice of the South Carolina Supreme Court Ernest A. Finney, '60, made remarks. Fields has also served as treasurer of Centenary United Methodist Church for more than 50 years. He was a member of the committee that established the Charleston School of Law. The American Board of Trial Advocates established the Richard E. Fields Civility Award, which is awarded annually to a judge or attorney that displays high ethical standards. SANDRA M. PHOENIX Program Director HBCU Library Alliance sphoenix@hbculibraries.org<mailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org> www.hbculibraries.org<http://www.hbculibraries.org/> 404.592.4820 Skype:sandra.phoenix1 1438 West Peachtree Street NW Suite 200 Atlanta, GA 30309 Toll Free: 1.800.999.8558 (Lyrasis) Fax: 404.892.7879 www.lyrasis.org<http://www.lyrasis.org/> Honor the ancestors, honor the children.