FAMU Alum Honored by the National Bar Association

Florida A&M University (FAMU) alum and State of Florida Senator (D-Tampa) Arthenia Joyner was inducted into the National Bar Association’s (NBA) Hall of Fame.

“It’s a singular honor to have been recognized by your peers for this milestone,” said Senator Joyner. “But there’s much work left to be done. This honor inspires me to continue the fight for equality.”

Senator Joyner was honored at the organization’s 23rd Annual Hall of Fame luncheon in San Diego, Calif. She is also the second woman to serve as president of the NBA.

John Crump, the National Bar’s executive director, said Sen. Joyner is being added to the Hall of Fame’s ranks “in recognition of her many years of services in the practice of law, contributions to the African-American community and the significant contributions that she has made to the cause of justice.”

About Senator Joyner
Joyner was elected to the Florida Legislature in 2000 where she served six years in the Florida House of Representatives and is currently serving in the Florida Senate. She is a shareholder in the law firm of Stiles, Taylor & Grace, P.A. where her primary areas of practice are probate, guardianship and public finance.

Senator Joyner has been a groundbreaker and leader in her profession. She received her bachelor of science and juris doctor degrees from FAMU. She was the first African-American female attorney in Polk and Hillsborough Counties, and she has been in private practice for 40 years – longer than any other black woman in the State of Florida.

Senator Joyner is a fighter for civil rights, and has always stood up for what she believes. Facing segregation and discrimination, she participated, while in high school, in one of the first civil rights demonstrations in her hometown of Tampa, Fla. She was active in the effort to desegregate movie theaters and churches in Tallahassee, Fla. and was arrested twice while attending FAMU. In 1985, her commitment was demonstrated again while serving as president of the National Bar Association as she protested apartheid outside the South African Embassy in Washington, D.C.

Senator Joyner has received numerous awards. Counted among her most prestigious awards are appointments by former President William “Bill” Clinton to the U.S. Delegation to the Population Conference in Cairo, Egypt, in 1994; the U.S. Delegation to the United Nations 4th World Conference on Women in Beijing, China, in 1995; to the Federal Aviation Management Advisory Council, in 1999; and a Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Stetson University in 1991.

About the NBA
The NBA, founded in 1925, has been at the forefront of legal battles waged on behalf of equality, especially on behalf of the African-American community. The NBA is the nation's oldest and largest national association of predominately African-American lawyers and judges. It has 84 affiliate chapters throughout the United States and affiliations in Canada, the United Kingdom, Africa and the Caribbean. It represents a professional network of more than 20,000 lawyers, judges, educators and law students.