For the past 51 years, the Massachusetts Black Lawyers Association (MBLA) has gathered to celebrate outstanding lawyers across the Commonwealth and this year is no exception.
During their Annual Gala on April 11, the organization will honor three people with Lifetime Achievement and Trailblazer awards while also raising money for scholarships. Marie St. Fleur, Esq., CEO and Principal at St. Fleur will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award; Tanisha M. Sullivan, Esq., Head of External Engagement & Health Equity Strategy at Sanofi; and Rodney C. Pratt, Esq., Senior Vice President and Chief Legal Officer at LVMH North America will receive the Trailblazer Awards.
“The MBLA is deeply committed to nurturing and supporting our future legal talent and fostering diversity within the legal community,” said Avana Epperson-Temple, MBLA President 2024-2025. “Our law student scholarship program plays a pivotal role in this mission by providing financial assistance and mentorship to aspiring lawyers.”
One of this year’s honorees, Marie St. Fleur said pouring into the next generation is a big part of what the MBLA stands for.
“Once you’re given the opportunity, it’s what you do with it. And I think the Mass Black Lawyers Association is well positioned to continue the fight that the doors of opportunity remain open so that the next generation can have access,” she said.
For St. Fleur, receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award is a full circle moment.
“I was president of the MBLA in my 30s. This award shows 30 years of progress in my life. I guess that’s what it means and I’m grateful that my efforts either have impacted someone or have been recognized. It fills me with gratitude that I can still be here and given the opportunity to have such a moment,” she said.
Trailblazer Award winner Rodney C. Pratt said his outlook on what it means to be a lawyer was influenced by a quote from Thurgood Marshall’s mentor Charles Hamilton Houston.
“He had a saying which really resonated with me. He said that ‘lawyers are either social engineers or parasites on society’. And I think to be a lawyer, you always have to have in mind what it means to not only sort of advocate on behalf of others, but create a path and be a trailblazer. So the opportunities that were open to you and those doors are going to stay open and grow even more and not be closed after your time is done,” he said.
Pratt recognized that the country has had difficult times when it comes to the law, justice and diversity but said he sees the light at the end of the tunnel.
“Legacies are often created in moments that are challenging. And I think right now we will see legacies be created or destroyed, and so and I think for me, that is important. Nothing lasts forever. So my hope is that, we are being sort of refined in a way that makes sense right now, because we’re being challenged, and all of our values are currently being pressure tested,” he shared.
St. Fleur said the work of Black Lawyers has created change not only in the United States but around the world.
“You can go all the way back to the Dred Scott decision. It is through these courts that we have forced the change in the regulations and in the laws and in the policies that negatively impacted all communities. Because when we win, everybody wins, and that’s what folks tend to forget. Civil Rights, as it was happening in the United States, impacted folks across the diaspora, because it spurred movements across the diaspora. If you take a look at the freedom of Angola, if you take a look at Cape Verde, you can go on. I mean, so there’s an energy that gets created by the agency of Black Folk,” she said.
Pratt said that visibility and standing up for what’s right is not only wanted, it’s very much needed.
“It’s important for organizations like the Massachusetts Black Lawyers Association to still have their gala, to still raise that flag, be visible and highlight the excellence that exists in the Black community and also in the legal community,” he said.
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