PEMBROKE — The third annual Julian T. Pierce Memorial Dinner and Art Auction will be held at 6 p.m. inside The University of North Carolina at Pembroke’s Annex Center.
Pierce was the first executive director of Lumbee River Legal Services in Pembroke. He helped build Robeson Health Care Corporation and was a driving force behind the Lumbee Tribe’s outdoor drama, “Strike at the Wind!”
A lifelong champion of the tribe, Pierce petitioned the Bureau of Indian Affairs to recognize Lumbees in 1987. He resigned his position at Lumbee River Legal Services the following year to run for a newly created judgeship in Robeson County, but was murdered before the election was held.
“His life’s work embodied honor, integrity and strength of character,” Stanley Knick, director of the university’s Museum of the Southeast American Indian, said in a statement. “In the years since his death, many people have been inspired by his life to seek positions never before held by minorities, to enter professional fields … where minorities have been historically underrepresented, and to seek justice and equality for all. The Julian T. Pierce Memorial scholarships are a means to continue his work toward education, equality and justice for all persons.”
Tickets are $50 and can be purchased from Two Hawk Employment Services, the Robeson Community College Foundation office, the Museum of the Southeast American Indian at UNC Pembroke, and Pembroke Legal Aid.
Proceeds support the Julian T. Pierce Memorial Scholarship at The University of North Carolina at Pembroke, Robeson Community College and the North Carolina Central University School of Law, as well as the Julian T. Pierce Memorial at Pembroke Legal Aid.
For information, visit juliantpiercescholarships.org.
