| Annie Brown Kennedy 2004 Honoree |
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Annie Brown Kennedy, born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, has shared her passion for law and justice with Georgia citizens, those in North Carolina and her family. Her quest to uphold the laws of the land began more than 50 years ago. Kennedy earned an undergraduate degree from Spelman College and a law degree from Howard University. She was licensed to practice law in Georgia in 1952 and moved to North Carolina in 1953 with her husband and children. She passed the North Carolina bar in 1954 and immediately began practicing law. At the time that she began practicing law, she was the second African-American female to practice law in North Carolina. |
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In 1955, her husband joined Kennedy in the practice of law, forming one of the first husband-and-wife law partnerships in North Carolina.
Kennedy was the first African-American woman to serve in the North Carolina General Assembly. During her 13-year tenure, she chaired several major committees, including judiciary, courts, ethics and labor. At the time that she chaired the judiciary committee, she was one of only nine females chairing a judiciary committee in a state legislature in the United States.
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"Set goals and high standards for yourself and work hard to achieve them." |
Kennedy has practiced law in North Carolina continuously since 1954. She is a partner in Kennedy, Kennedy, Kennedy and Kennedy, L.L.P., where she practices law with her husband and two of their three sons. They have successfully handled a number of civil rights cases, including racial and sexual discrimination and sexual harassment cases.
The first woman to be elected president of the Forsyth County Bar Association, Kennedy became the first African-American attorney inducted into the North Carolina Bar Association's General Practice Section Hall of Fame. She received the Howard University Distinguished Alumni Award in Law and Politics and the First Annie Brown Kennedy Award established by the North Carolina Legislative Black Caucus for outstanding contributions to the citizens of North Carolina.
Kennedy, whose special interests include the rights of women, African Americans and children, counsels young people to "set goals and high standards for yourself and work hard to achieve them. Be kind and considerate of other people and always have a positive attitude."
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