Charlayne Hunter-Gault (fourth from left), one of the namesakes of the Holmes-Hunter lecture, stands next to Justice Robert Benham (right), the 2020 Holmes-Hunter lecturer. Benham encouraged audience members to take a chance and do what is right even when it opposes the status quo. Photo by Grace Lang
On Feb. 3, Georgia Supreme Court Justice Robert Benham spoke with humor and conviction to members of the Athens community, including students from the Clarke County School District about his life, during the Holmes-Hunter Lecture at the University of Georgia Chapel.
Georgia Supreme Court Justice Robert Benham was the keynote speaker at the University of Georgia’s annual Holmes-Hunter lecture, named after the school’s first two African American students.
Benham was the second African American to graduate from the University of Georgia School of Law and the first to serve on the Georgia Supreme Court. Having served since 1989, Benham will retire on March 1.
Prior to speaking, Benham was introduced by Charlayne Hunter-Gault, one of the first two African American students to integrate UGA, as well as one of the namesakes for the lecture. During the introduction, she spoke fondly of Benham and shared things that she and others have learned from him.
After the welcoming introduction, Benham spoke about his childhood and the small protests he made throughout it, including walking through the front door of a restaurant instead of getting his food from a side window designated for black customers. He explained how after walking through the front door, the food that had been ordered and prepared was thrown away.
Along with this encounter, Benham mentioned other instances where he was treated unfairly because of his race. As an African American person from the South like Benham, these stories were not surprising to me, but this did not take away from how disappointing they were.
These disappointing experiences, however, are what made for an inspiring example of Black excellence. These events in Justice Benham’s life are what made him want to become a lawyer and fight for people who were marginalized in the same ways that he was. This eventually led to him breaking color barriers and growing from something that was meant to break him.
Hearing Benham speak was a strong reinforcement that African Americans are capable of being successful and standing up for themselves along with others. It left people inspired and proud of who they are and what they can be.
