[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 1]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 960]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    TRIBUTE TO JUDGE RICHARD FIELDS

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                         HON. JAMES E. CLYBURN

                           of south carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, January 26, 2011

  Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a 
trailblazing legal professional and one of my mentors, Judge Richard 
Fields.
  Judge Fields is being honored on February 10, 2011, by the Center for 
Heirs Property Preservation with the Commitment to Justice Award. 
Although I cannot be there in person due to Congressional obligations, 
I cannot allow this occasion to pass without adding my personal 
recognition of this remarkable man.
  Judge Richard E. Fields has a story not unlike that of many African 
Americans born in the segregated South. He was born and raised in 
Charleston, South Carolina to parents who spent their youth working in 
the fields, unable to earn more than a fourth grade education. Yet that 
didn't stop them from wanting a better life for their son.
  Judge Fields left home in 1940, and went to West Virginia State 
College, now University, where he earned a BS in Business 
Administration. In 1944 he entered the Howard University Law School and 
graduated with a law degree in 1947.
  Two years later, Judge Fields returned to his hometown and became the 
first African American to open a law office in Charleston since the 
early 1900s and he had the distinction of becoming the first black 
litigator.
  After distinguishing himself over two decades as an outstanding legal 
advocate, he was elected in 1969 as a Municipal Judge for the City of 
Charleston. He served in that position until 1975, when he was elected 
Judge of the Family Court of Charleston County. Five years later, he 
was elected Judge of the Circuit Courts of South Carolina where he 
remained until his retirement in 1992.
  In retirement, Judge Fields has been very active in the legal 
community. He was a member of the Committee to Establish the School of 
Law and now serves on the Advisory Committee to the Charleston School 
of Law which was established in 2004.
  In 1952, Judge Fields joined the Claflin College, now University, 
Board of Trustees, where he served for more than 50 years. In 1992, the 
Richard E. Fields and Myrtle E. Fields Scholarship was established at 
Claflin to provide financial assistance to students of merit.
  Throughout his career, Judge Fields has served on numerous boards and 
committees in both the public and private sectors. In 1980, he along 
with several businessmen, established the Liberty National Bank, and he 
served on its Board of Directors for a number of years.
  After returning to Charleston to practice law, Judge Fields resumed 
his membership in historic Centenary Methodist Church. He was elected 
Treasurer of that congregation in approximately 1950, and held that 
position for more than 50 years. He has been the Church's delegate to 
the South Carolina Annual Conference for more than 50 years. In 1970, 
Judge Fields was elected to the General Board of Finance and 
Administration, the corporate body of the Church.
  He has been honored by the local chapter of ``100 Black Men'' and by 
the American Board of Trial Advocates which established ``The Richard 
E. Fields Civility Award'' to be given annually to a judge or attorney 
embodying his high standards of decency, civility, and equanimity. West 
Virginia State University also honored him in 2009 as the Alumnus of 
the Year.
  In addition to all his public accolades, I must add my personal 
commendation to Judge Fields. I often recount the story of when I was a 
young man just out of college intent on changing the world from my 
place in Charleston, Judge Fields gave me advice that I will never 
forget. He reminded me of the story of the three little pigs and the 
wolf that huffed and puffed and couldn't blow their brick house down. 
Judge Fields equated the obstacles that had been built to keep African 
Americans out to the brick house. He told me, ``You got to get inside. 
You can't change things from outside no matter how well-meaning you may 
be.'' Judge Fields words helped me to define my political philosophy, 
and that is how I have come to build a career as a public servant.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask you and my colleagues to join me in celebrating 
the transformative work of The Honorable Richard Fields. His life story 
is an example of overcoming obstacles with integrity and leadership. He 
continues, through his work with the Center for Heirs Property 
Preservation, higher education institutions, his church and his legal 
profession, to promote opportunity and justice for all. Judge Fields is 
a South Carolina and a national treasure, who is very deserving of this 
recognition.

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