PEMBROKE — Members of the Julian T. Pierce Memorial Scholarship Initiative Committee presented a $9,500 contribution to The University of North Carolina at Pembroke.

The proceeds, which were raised during the annual Julian Pierce Art Auction, will benefit the scholarship named in Pierce’s honor.

The check presentation was held at North Carolina Legal Aid, a poverty law office in Pembroke where Pierce was the founding director.

Proceeds also will go to the Julian T. Pierce Memorial Scholarship at Robeson Community College and the North Carolina Central University School of Law, where Pierce received his law degree.

Pierce was an attorney and civil rights activist in Robeson County. He was a 1966 graduate of what was then known as Pembroke State University. Pierce fought for education, equality and justice for all persons as a lawyer and through his civic involvement.

He became the first director of Lumbee River Legal Services, known today as N.C. Legal Aid, in 1978.

Pierce was killed in 1988 while running for election to the Superior Court. He was 42. If elected, he would have been the first American Indian to hold the position of Superior Court judge in North Carolina.

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Staff report