{"672851":{"#nid":"672851","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Retired Justice Robert Benham Receives Ivan Allen Jr. Prize ","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EThe Honorable Robert Benham has spent his life breaking racial barriers as the first African American to hold various positions in the field of law. He was the first African American to establish a law practice in his hometown of Cartersville, Georgia, the first president of the Bartow County Bar Association, the first judge on the Georgia State Court of Appeals, and the first African American to win a statewide election since Reconstruction. His public service career was defined by a commitment to safeguarding civil liberties. For these reasons, the retired justice is the recipient of the 2024 \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ivanallenprize.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EIvan Allen Jr. Prize for Social Courage\u003C\/a\u003E, which honors individuals who have stood up for moral principles at the risk of their careers, livelihoods, and even their lives.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EGeorgia Tech President \u00c1ngel Cabrera presented the award to Benham during a luncheon at the Biltmore Thursday. \u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u201cLike other pioneers know too well, the price for being the first can be incredibly high,\u201d said Cabrera. \u201cJustice Benham admits it wasn\u2019t easy. He faced discrimination, isolation, insults, and threats. But he didn\u2019t stop. Instead, he let his love for the law, his dedication to his community and home state of Georgia, his commitment to country, and his pull to public service drive him, no matter the obstacles.\u201d \u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EFollowing the award presentation, a symposium featuring a panel of legal experts explored the theme of Leaders in \u201cProgress and Service\u201d: Lives in the Law. Panelists included Gerogia Supreme Court Justice Charles Bethel, Georgia Tech\u2019s General Counsel Danette Joslyn-Gaul, former Chief Justice of the Georgia Supreme Court Harold Melton, and Director of the Georgia Division of Family and Children Services Candice Broce. Roberta Berry, Georgia Tech associate vice provost for undergraduate education, moderated the panel. \u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EThe lawyers shared their \u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cspan\u003Eviews of the law and of lawyers, both as advocates for their clients and as members of the judiciary. They also connected the discussion to the life of Justice Benham. \u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u201cEverything about Justice Benham\u2019s career and his professional life has been about giving back,\u201d said Joslyn-Gaul. \u201cHe has been honored many times, and 99.9% of the awards are for his selflessness. That kind of professional life and service to others, as a lawyer, is exceptional.\u201d \u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EThe Ivan Allen Jr. Prize for Social Courage is named for former Atlanta Mayor Ivan Allen Jr., a graduate of Georgia Tech, who at great personal and political risk was the only southern white elected official to testify before Congress in support of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. \u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EGeorgia judicial pioneer honored for his commitment to safeguarding civil liberties. \u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Georgia judicial pioneer honored for his commitment to safeguarding civil liberties. "}],"uid":"27713","created_gmt":"2024-02-09 13:55:46","changed_gmt":"2024-02-09 19:34:14","author":"Victor Rogers","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2024-02-09T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2024-02-09T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"673027":{"id":"673027","type":"image","title":"Retired Justice Robert Benham","body":"\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech President \u00c1ngel Cabrera presented the Ivan Prize Jr. Prize for Social Courage to the Honorable Robert Benham. (Photo by Allison Carter)\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","created":"1707488005","gmt_created":"2024-02-09 14:13:25","changed":"1707496376","gmt_changed":"2024-02-09 16:32:56","alt":"Retired Justice Robert Benham receives the Ivan Allen Prize from President Cabrera","file":{"fid":"256371","name":"Ivan Allen Prize 2024- 004.JPG","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2024\/02\/09\/Ivan%20Allen%20Prize%202024-%20004.JPG","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2024\/02\/09\/Ivan%20Allen%20Prize%202024-%20004.JPG","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":470405,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2024\/02\/09\/Ivan%20Allen%20Prize%202024-%20004.JPG?itok=KRId-TrE"}},"673028":{"id":"673028","type":"image","title":"Retired Justice Robert Benham","body":"\u003Cp\u003EThe Honorable Robert Benham, recipient of the 2024 Ivan Allen Jr. Prize for Social Courage, with his wife Nell, his son Austin, and daughter-in-law Aleesha. (Photo by Allison Carter)\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","created":"1707489968","gmt_created":"2024-02-09 14:46:08","changed":"1707492742","gmt_changed":"2024-02-09 15:32:22","alt":"Retired Justice Robert Benham and his family","file":{"fid":"256372","name":"Ivan Allen Prize 2024- 023.JPG","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2024\/02\/09\/Ivan%20Allen%20Prize%202024-%20023.JPG","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2024\/02\/09\/Ivan%20Allen%20Prize%202024-%20023.JPG","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":499462,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2024\/02\/09\/Ivan%20Allen%20Prize%202024-%20023.JPG?itok=CkdYhmOj"}},"673029":{"id":"673029","type":"image","title":"Symposium at Ivan Allen Jr. Prize for Social Courage","body":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003ERoberta Berry, Georgia Tech associate professor of public policy, moderated a panel of legal experts exploring the theme of Leaders in \u201cProgress and Service\u201d: Lives in the Law. Pictured (L-R): Berry, Director of the Georgia Division of Family and Children Services Candice Broce, former Chief Justice of the Georgia Supreme Court Harold Melton, Georgia Supreme Court Justice Charles Bethel, and Georgia Tech\u2019s General Counsel Danette Joslyn-Gaul. (Photo by Allison Carter) \u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","created":"1707492463","gmt_created":"2024-02-09 15:27:43","changed":"1707492697","gmt_changed":"2024-02-09 15:31:37","alt":"Symposium at Ivan Allen Jr. Prize for Social Courage","file":{"fid":"256374","name":"Ivan Allen Prize 2024- 027.JPG","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2024\/02\/09\/Ivan%20Allen%20Prize%202024-%20027.JPG","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2024\/02\/09\/Ivan%20Allen%20Prize%202024-%20027.JPG","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":513579,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2024\/02\/09\/Ivan%20Allen%20Prize%202024-%20027.JPG?itok=xHZjGCUG"}}},"media_ids":["673027","673028","673029"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/news.gatech.edu\/news\/2024\/01\/05\/ivan-allen-jr-prize-social-courage-recognizes-georgia-judicial-pioneer","title":"More on Justice Robert Benham "}],"groups":[{"id":"1281","name":"Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts"},{"id":"58132","name":"Ivan Allen Prize"},{"id":"1317","name":"News Briefs"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71871","name":"Campus and Community"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022victor.rogers@comm.gatech.edu \u0022\u003EVictor Rogers\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EInstitute Communications\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}