Rice ’25 & Singleton ’25 Receive Swanson Award
On Thursday, January 23, the Law School held its annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Day celebration. The event was sponsored by the Center for the Study of Race and Law and UVA Law’s Black Law Student Association (BLSA). This year, Chief Justice S. Bernard Goodwyn ’86 of the Supreme Court of Virginia delivered the keynote address of the event, and for the first time in the award’s history two recipients—Laura-Louise Rice ’25 and Shelby Singleton ’25—received the Gregory H. Swanson Award.
Shelby Singleton ‘25 and Laura Louise Rice ’25. Photo Credit: UVA Law
Professor Kimberly Robinson (Col. ’92), the University’s White Burkett Miller Professor of Law and Public Affairs, the Karsh Bicentennial Professor of Law, and the director of the Center for the Study of Race and Law, opened the event by welcoming guests to the Law School and sharing a few words on the mark Dr. King has left behind.
“He shined a light so bright on the dire plight of African Americans and others throughout our nation…” Robinson said. “Our nation was forced to see and confront the evils of racism, violence, and abuse that African Americans and others were enduring each day. He helped to not only catalyze a national movement for civil rights for all people, but he also ushered in law and policy reforms.”
After the introduction, Robinson welcomed Dean Leslie Kendrick ’06 to present the eighth annual Gregory H. Swanson Award. Dean Kendrick began by thanking Professor Robinson for her contributions to the event and Chief Justice Goodwyn for delivering the keynote address. Dean Kendrick also shared the origins of the Swanson Award.
“Gregory Swanson was the first Black student at the Law School, the first Black student at the University of Virginia, and the first student to study on an integrated basis at any formerly white university in the former Confederacy,” Dean Kendrick said. “This year, 2025, marks the 75th anniversary of [Swanson’s] admission and attendance at the Law School.”
The Swanson Award was conceptualized in 2018 to recognize Gregory Swanson’s achievements. Swanson was first rejected from the Law School’s LL.M. program in 1950 on account of his race. In conjunction with counsel from Hill, Martin, and Robinson and the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, Swanson sued for admission in federal court and won. Following her recount of Swanson’s history, Dean Kendrick introduced this year’s recipients of the Swanson Award, Laura Louise Rice ’25 and Shelby Singleton ’25[1].
Rice, a 2022 graduate of the University of South Carolina’s Honors College, was recognized for her contributions and service to the Law School formerly as the president of the First Year Council and historian and president of UVA’s BLSA chapter, and currently as Digital Editor for the Virginia Journal of Law and Technology, student employee in the Law School’s admissions office, member of the Community Fellows program, member of the Raven Society, and Student Bar Association president. This year, Rice was also named a 2024–25 Ritter Scholar, a designation intended to honor third-year law students that “best exemplify the qualities of honor, character, and integrity.”
While presenting Rice with her award, Dean Kendrick remarked on the overarching qualities nominators ascribed to Rice that make her a remarkable recipient of the Swanson Award.
“[Rice] builds community from the ground up,” Dean Kendrick said. “She is as brilliant as she is compassionate and kind…she sees her classmates for who they are…she works hard every day to make sure our community is meeting the needs of all of its members, and…her enormous efforts have made her an essential part of our law school community.”
In her acceptance speech, Rice thanked the University and shared how the legacy she leaves behind at the Law School is just a continuation of the legacy her family has placed in her and the legacy of other Black students who have walked the halls of Virginia Law.
“As I stand here today, I am an embodiment of the legacies and dreams of my grandparents,” Rice said. “I stand here because they stood where they stood. I stand here because Gregory Swanson had the courage to stand here, because John F. Merchant…the first Black student to graduate from the Law School, had the perseverance to stand here, because Elaine Jones…as the first Black woman to attend UVA…made the choice to stand here.”
Singleton, a 2022 graduate of George Washington University, was recognized for her contributions and service to the Law School as a senior editorial board member of the Virginia Journal of Social Policy and the Law, member of the Law School’s public service committee, Vice President of Inclusion for the Law Christian Fellowship, fellow with the Law and Public Service program, member of the Community Fellows Program, volunteer with UVA’s branch of the Virginia Innocence Project, member of the Law School’s State and Local Government Policy legal clinic and International Human Rights legal clinic, and member of UVA’s BLSA chapter. Additionally, during her time at the Law School, Singleton has worked as an intern at the United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division and at the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund.
Dean Kendrick also reflected on statements made by Singleton’s nominators that showcased her commitment to the community.
“[Singleton] demonstrates the kind of outstanding character and conduct that defined Mr. Swanson,” Dean Kendrick said. “She shares his deep commitment to justice and unwavering willingness to do the hard work to achieve it. Shelby is guided personally and professionally by her sense of right and wrong, by her faith and belief in humanity…Shelby is a kind and generous human being, someone others want to be around.”
In her acceptance speech, Singleton thanked the University and acknowledged the large role God plays in her life as the driving force behind who she is inside and outside of the law school.
“Mr. Gregory Swanson displayed immense courage, perseverance, and integrity throughout his life…it is truly an honor and a humbling experience to be recognized for displaying those same qualities,” Singleton said. “I must be honest, being recognized for character and perseverance feels a little awkward because I’m not deserving of this praise. I get my perseverance and strength from Jesus…I am just an example of the grace and love of God.”
Following the presentation of the awards, Professor Robinson welcomed keynote speaker, Chief Justice S. Bernard Goodwyn ’86 of the Supreme Court of Virginia to the podium to deliver his remarks. Chief Justice Goodwyn is the second Black Chief Justice to serve on the Supreme Court of Virginia. Chief Justice Goodwyn was appointed to the Supreme Court of Virginia in 2007 by then-Governor Tim Kaine and has since been re-elected by the General Assembly for another term in 2020. Previously, Chief Justice Goodwyn was a litigation partner at Willcox & Savage located in Norfolk, Virginia, and served as an associate research professor at UVA Law in civil procedure and civil litigation practice.
During his address, Chief Justice Goodwyn discussed how in the present day, the general public tends to regard the Civil Rights Movement as “ancient history,” but in reality, the distance between then and now is much closer. He himself lived through it.
“While we now teach about segregation as history, we have to remember it’s history, but not ancient history,” Chief Justice Goodwyn said. “It’s recent history. I remember the Civil Rights Era, and I suspect there are other people in this room who remember it as well. I grew up in the segregated South in the ’60s. I remember driving by Ku Klux Klan meetings. People were on the street in their robes with their weapons walking up and down the street.”
Chief Justice Goodwyn also acknowledged how transformative Dr. King, Jr. was in making the “then” of the Civil Rights Movement into the “now” of the present day, especially in changing the legal underpinnings supporting segregation.
“Dr. King’s insistence on adhering to nonviolence and his belief in the principles of justice, even in the face of hatred and violence, showed us the power of courage and conviction,” Chief Justice Goodwyn said. “Dr. King’s genius lay in the ability to appeal to the law’s higher ideals while challenging its failures.”
In closing, the Chief Justice encouraged everyone to continue the work of Dr. King, because while legally enforced segregation is a thing of the past, there are still present threats to equality and equity arising every day.
“As we honor the legacy of Dr. King, let us recommit ourselves to his noble cause,” Chief Justice Goodwyn said. “Let us work tirelessly to build and maintain a nation where the color of one’s skin does not determine their opportunities, their worth, or their place in society. In doing so, not only do we honor the past, but we also secure a brighter future for all Americans.”
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alj3emz@virginia.edu
[1] As a personal aside, it has truly been an honor to get to know both of these incredible women. I want to thank them both for their incredible mentorship and welcoming presence at this Law School. I believe I speak for many Black students at UVA Law when saying LL and Shelby have left a lasting impact on our hearts and minds, and as they graduate, we both celebrate all the places they will go and appreciate the contributions they leave behind.
