By Mekhi Abbott
Special to the AFRO
William H. “Billy” Murphy Jr. has invested $1 million dollars into the Gibson-Banks Center for Race and the Law, housed within the Francis King Carey School of Law at the University of Maryland.
The school of law announced the new center in Fall 2023, with a goal of improving the lives of those affected by historical, systemic and current racial oppression.
Murphy, a Carey Law alum, said he took the initiative to help advance the center’s mission.
“My goals for Black people now align with what the University of Maryland is about to do. I have known Larry since 1959. When the university decided to open the center and do it in the name of – among others– Larry Gibson, that was music to my ears,” said Murphy.
Larry Gibson is a professor and legal historian who has written “one of the definitive biographies of Thurgood Marshall,” the law school’s website says.
Murphy has long been a champion for justice and Black empowerment. He quickly grew to prominence as a criminal defense lawyer in Maryland in his early years practicing law.
“I now have a vehicle for donating money that will have a legacy value for years to come. And it will advance the cause of justice for Blacks, Browns, women and others who have been mistreated because of their status or their color or nationality,” Murphy said. “The center is going to focus mainly on getting Black people to become full-fledged citizens in this country for the first time,” said Murphy, when asked why it was important for him to make this donation.
The Gibson-Banks Center for Race and the Law is named after the University of Maryland’s first Black male and female tenured professors, Larry Gibson and Taunya Lovell Banks.
“Larry Gibson became a member of the faculty in the ‘70s and has a distinguished reputation as a professor at the university. He has taught about every Black graduate who came out of the university. He taught evidence and criminal procedure and he has taught civil procedure. That man has been the ‘Chief Historian’ of Black lawyers in the United States,” said Murphy.
Carey Law professor and faculty director Michael Pinard reiterated the sentiment shown to Gibson and Banks, while also adding some insight on their legacy and impact to the school of law.
Pinard said that Larry Gibson and Taunya Lovell Banks “devoted their careers and advocacy to addressing racial and intersectional oppression,” adding that “no other name would be appropriate,” for the law center.
In honor of the Gibson-Banks Center launch, Pinard penned a letter for what the center will achieve in the proceeding years. Pinard also shared that the students will see the importance of the center as the law school “deepens their commitment to addressing racial oppression.”
Dean of Carey Law, Renée McDonald Hutchins, extended much praise to Murphy for his donation.
“Billy Murphy’s gift was an absolutely transformative gift. One of the things we have said all along is that we want to make sure that the center is adequately funded at an endowment level so the good work of the center will continue no matter who us sitting in leadership chairs and Billy Murphy’s gift absolutely accomplishes that.”
Carey is one of the most diverse law schools in the nation, and 39 percent of the 2023 incoming class were students of color.
As far as what impact the donation will have on students from the Dean’s prospective, Hutchins said that the center will be hiring student fellows and allowing law students to train in an area focused on civil rights law, which in her opinion is “absolutely central to the future of American democracy.”
The center has already hired its first fellow and the Gibson-Banks Center is hitting the ground running. Last November, the center co-sponsored Professor Matiangai Sirleaf’s book launch and it will continue to roll forward with events after that, according to Hutchins.
When asked what the future of the center looks like in the next 20 years or so, Hutchins painted a picture of philanthropy and progress.
“Maryland Carey Law is already a thought leader in the state and in the nation. I would love to see the center lean into that legacy and become a thought leader on questions of race and democracy in America. I would love to see the center be the go to voice when we are wrestling with hard issues in this country and say, ‘Here’s a path forward. Here are some things that we need to consider and here are some things we need to investigate.’”
Hutchins ended by adding that Murphy is a “remarkable representation of the high quality attorney that the law school produces.” She added that Carey is very thankful for Murphy’s donation and proud of his success, as someone who has been practicing law for over five decades.
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