Reggie Shuford
{{Short description|North Carolina-based lawyer and executive director of the North Carolina Justice Center}}
{{Infobox person
| honorific_prefix =
| name = Reginald Shuford
| honorific_suffix =
| image = Reggie Shuford 1984 yearbook photo.jpg
| image_size =
| alt =
| caption =
| native_name =
| native_name_lang =
| pronunciation =
| birth_name =
| birth_date =
| birth_place =
| baptised =
| disappeared_date =
| disappeared_place =
| disappeared_status =
| death_date =
| death_place =
| death_cause =
| body_discovered =
| resting_place =
| resting_place_coordinates =
| burial_place =
| burial_coordinates =
| monuments =
| nationality =
| other_names =
| citizenship =
| education = University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill BA
University of North Carolina School of Law JD
| alma_mater =
| occupation = Executive Director
| years_active =
| era =
| employer =
| organization = North Carolina Justice Center
| agent =
| known_for =
| notable_works =
| style =
| height =
| television =
| title =
| term =
| predecessor =
| party =
| movement =
| opponents =
| boards =
| criminal_charge =
| criminal_penalty =
| criminal_status =
| spouse =
| partner =
| children =
| parents =
| mother =
| father =
| relatives =
| family =
| callsign =
| awards =
| website =
| module =
| module2 =
| module3 =
| module4 =
| module5 =
| module6 =
| signature =
| signature_size =
| signature_alt =
| footnotes =
}}
Reginald "Reggie" T. Shuford is a North Carolina–based lawyer and executive director of the North Carolina Justice Center.{{cite web |title=Reggie Shuford |url=https://www.ncjustice.org/?author_name=reggie-shuford |website=North Carolina Justice Center |access-date=24 April 2023}}
Early life and education
Shuford grew up in public housing in Wilmington, North Carolina, the third of five children.{{cite web| url= http://www.phillymag.com/g-philly/2016/12/09/lgbtqa-reggie-shuford/| title=LGBTQ&A: Reggie Shuford| author=Owens, Ernest| date=9 December 2016| publisher= Philadelphia magazine}} Shuford earned high grades at New Hanover High School, leading to a scholarship to attend Cape Fear Academy, where he was the first black graduate in 1984.{{cite news| last1=Bellamy| first1=Cammie |title=Alumni share memories of Cape Fear Academy |url = http://www.starnewsonline.com/news/20160825/alumni-share-memories-of-cape-fear-academy| access-date=1 December 2017 |publisher=Wilmington StarNews | date = August 25, 2016}} His classmate Patrick Ballantine later recalled Shuford was accused of acting white by the black community in Wilmington, leaving Shuford "sandwiched by ridicule".{{Cite book| url= https://books.google.com/books?id=GgpaDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA39| title =Suspect Citizens: What 20 Million Traffic Stops Tell Us About Policing and Race| last1=Baumgartner| first1=Frank R. |author1-link = Frank Baumgartner | last2=Epp| first2=Derek A.| last3=Shoub |first3 =Kelsey |date=2018-07-10 |publisher =Cambridge University Press| isbn= 9781108429313 |language=en| page=39}}{{cite news| last =Ramsey |first = Mike |date = May 30, 1999| page = B1 | newspaper = Star-News | location = Wilmington |url =https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=jXpaAAAAIBAJ&sjid=qx4EAAAAIBAJ&pg=1723%2C6315419 |title = City native fights bias against black drivers}} Shuford has stated that the prejudice he experienced in his early education motivated him to pursue a legal career.{{Cite web| url= https://www.law.com/thelegalintelligencer/almID/1202514061934/| title=Veteran Litigator, Seeking 'Broader Mission,' to Lead State's ACLU | first = Shannon | last =Duffy |website=The Legal Intelligencer|access-date=2017-12-01}}
Shuford went on to attend the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and University of North Carolina School of Law, where he earned his JD and was president of his law class.{{Cite news| url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/magazine/a-decade-later-prosecutor-lunas-death-still-a-mystery/2013/12/10/211e2ab8-f563-11e2-aa2e-4088616498b4_story.html|title=A decade later, prosecutor Luna's death still a mystery| newspaper =Washington Post| first = Cheryl | last = Thompson | author-link =Cheryl W. Thompson| access-date=2017-12-01}}{{cite news|title=ACLU names director| url= https://newpittsburghcourieronline.com/2011/10/19/aclu-names-director/|access-date=9 December 2017|publisher=New Pittsburgh Courier| date=October 19, 2011}} While attending law school, he was roommates with Jonathan Luna.
Legal career
Throughout his career, Shuford has concentrated on social justice and civil rights. After graduation, he served as a clerk for Henry Frye, the first black chief justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court.{{Cite journal| last=Daye| first= Charles| date=1995| title=(Sesquicentennial) African-American and Other Minority Law Students and Alumni| url= http://scholarship.law.unc.edu/nclr/vol73/iss2/18/|journal=North Carolina Law Review |language=en| volume=73| issue=2}}{{cite web| title=Reginald T. Shuford, JD Biography| url= https://aclu.procon.org/view.source.php?sourceID=002119| publisher= ProCon| access-date=9 December 2017}} Shuford has described Justice Frye as a legal role model who helped Shuford become a better writer.{{Cite book| isbn = 978-0786475759| page =227| title =Henry Frye: North Carolina's First African American Chief Justice| last1 = Covington| first1 =Howard | date = 2013 |publisher = McFarland}}
Shuford served as a staff attorney for the ACLU's racial justice program from 1995 to 2010. Shuford represented the ACLU in Green v. TSA (2004), a challenge to the No Fly List.{{cite web| title=Green v TSA Complaint| url= http://news.findlaw.com/cnn/docs/aclu/greenvtsa40604cmp.pdf| publisher=W.D.W.S|access-date=4 December 2017| date=April 6, 2004}}{{cite news| last1=Meserve| first1=Jeanne |title=ACLU sues U.S. over 'no-fly' list| url= http://www.cnn.com/2004/LAW/04/06/no.fly.lawsuit/ |access-date=4 December 2017 |publisher=CNN| date=April 6, 2004}}
In 2011, Shuford was named executive director of the Pennsylvania ACLU. In 2013, he defended a transgender student at a Philadelphia suburban high school who was forced to use his birth name.{{cite news| last1=Morgan| first1=Glennisha| title=Isaak Wolfe, Transgender High School Student, Denied Use Of Assumed Name At Graduation| url= https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/09/isaak-wolfe-graduation-transgender-_n_3238947.html| access-date =1 December 2017| publisher =Huffington Post| date=May 9, 2013}}
Shuford oversaw the Pennsylvania ACLU's effort against Pennsylvania's voter ID law and prohibition on same-sex marriage, both of which were overturned.{{cite news| last1=Gregg| first1 =Cherri| title= Gamechanger: Reggie Shuford |url= http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2015/02/16/gamechanger-reggie-shuford/| access-date=1 December 2017 |publisher=KYW Newsradio |date=February 16, 2015}}
Shuford has also been involved in advocacy against perceived police brutality, including the New Jersey Safe Stop program.{{cite news| last1=Bresswein| first1=Kurt| title=New Jersey 'Safe Stop' campaign echoes Morganelli's advice| url= http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/news/index.ssf/2017/11/new_jersey_safe_stop_campaign.html| access-date=1 December 2017| publisher=Lehigh Valley Express-Times| date=November 25, 2017}}
In 2019, Shuford was involved in a lawsuit challenging Pennsylvania's bail system.{{cite news| date = July 10, 2019 | newspaper = Philadelphia Inquirer | page =B2 |first = Samantha | last =Melamed | title = Pa. Supreme Court to probe bail system | url = https://www.newspapers.com/image/586167683/}}
In 2023, Shuford was named executive director of the North Carolina Justice Center, a Raleigh-based progressive policy and advocacy nonprofit.
Awards
In 2016, Pennsylvania State University Law's Black Law Students Association and Penn State's Multicultural Undergraduate Law Association presented Shuford with the Living Legal Legend Award, which recognizes an individual who displays a strong commitment to fight for justice and diversity.{{cite web| url=https://pennstatelaw.psu.edu/events/living-legal-legend-award-presentation|title=Living Legal Legend Award Presentation| author=|date=April 2016| publisher= pennstatelaw.psu.edu}} In 2009-2010 Shuford was a Wasserstein Fellow at Harvard Law School.
Selected writings
- Why Affirmative Action Remains Essential in the Age of Obama{{cite journal |last1=Shuford|first1=Reginald T| title=Why Affirmative Action Remains Essential in the Age of Obama| journal=Campbell Law Review| date=Spring 2009| volume=31| issue=3| pages=603–533| url= https://scholarship.law.campbell.edu/clr/vol31/iss3/4/|access-date=9 December 2017}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shuford, Reggie}}
Category:University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni
Category:People from Wilmington, North Carolina
Category:University of North Carolina School of Law alumni
Category:American Civil Liberties Union people
Category:American civil rights lawyers