Julian Blackshear, Jr.
The Julian Blackshear, Jr. Scholarship Gala celebrates students, alumni and friends who have positively impacted the College of Law through their commitment to diversity and inclusion. This signature event, hosted by the Dean’s Office and the Black Law Students Association, honors alumnus Julian Blackshear, Jr., one of the first African American graduates of the College of Law. By honoring this distinguished alumnus, the college also celebrates its strong and enduring commitment to diversity and inclusion. The annual gala benefits the Julian Blackshear, Jr. Scholarship and recognizes the R.B.J. Campbelle, Jr. Award honoree and outstanding Black Law Students Association members.
Julian Blackshear, Jr. completed his bachelor’s degree at Morehouse College, where he was a student of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and enrolled in law school in 1963. His legal education was preempted from 1965 until 1969 by his service in the U.S. Air Force during the Vietnam War. Upon returning to Knoxville in 1969, he continued his education at UT and completed his third year of law school. Following graduation, he was a civil rights attorney for five years (under the auspices of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund) as an associate of the Law Firm of Avon Williams. From there, he had a long and successful career as a founder and managing partner of a 15-person law firm and outside general counsel of Nashville Metropolitan Transit Authority, Citizens Savings Bank and Trust Company, and Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. After retiring, he continued to share his knowledge and wisdom as an adjunct professor of political science at Tennessee State University. He maintains strong ties with the civic organizations today, including the Napier-Looby Bar Association as a Living Legend. In addition to these accolades, Blackshear is an accomplished trumpeter and played in various jazz and R&B bands.
As a member of the African American and legal communities, Blackshear’s ambition in life has been to help those around him bring their own goals to fruition.
Lillian M. Blackshear
2025 Keynote Speaker & R.B.J. Campbelle, Jr. Award Recipient
Lillian Blackshear is a member in the Nashville office of law firm Bass, Berry & Sims PLC. Exclusively focused on public finance, she represents an array of governmental entities, investment banks and commercial banks on debt issuances throughout Tennessee. Since 2010, she has represented clients in public finance transactions totaling more than $10 billion. Blackshear served on the Executive Committee of Bass, Berry & Sims from 2020 through 2023 and is past chair of the firm’s African American Affinity Group.
From 2014 through 2023, Blackshear served as a commissioner on the Metropolitan Planning Commission in Nashville. She is also a founding board member and secretary for the Tennessee Chapter of Women in Public Finance. She is a member of the Leadership Nashville Class of 2024, a 2023 Fellow of the Tennessee Bar Foundation and a 2022 Fellow of the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity.
In 2022, she was awarded the 40 Under 40 Nation’s Best Advocates Award and the 40 Under 40 Excellence in Leadership Award by the National Bar Association. She has been named to the Nashville Post’s In Charge list for the Legal Sector since 2022 and was a past 40 Under 40 honoree by the Nashville Business Journal. She is an avid supporter of the Julian Blackshear, Jr. Scholarship at the College of Law, has funded scholarships at her undergraduate alma mater, Spelman College, and is a past corporate fundraising volunteer for Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee. Most importantly, she is the proud wife of Clifton Peay and the proud mom of sons, Leo and Julian.
Blackshear is the daughter of Dr. Margaret Ann and Atty. Julian Blackshear, Jr. She graduated summa cum laude from both Spelman College in 2005 and the University of Tennessee College of Law in 2008.
2025 Black Law Students Association Award Recipients
KAMERON JOHNSON
Julian Blackshear, Jr. Outstanding Student Award
This award is given to the 3L student who exhibits leadership, outstanding character, and is a student of distinction.
TRINITY SANDIFER
R.B.J. Campbelle, Jr. Leadership Award
This award is given to the 3L student who exhibits leadership, social consciousness, dedication, passion, vision, and charisma.
SELENA HAWKER
Frank Ennix Award for Excellence
This award is given to the 3L student with a commitment to excellence, exemplary character, a strong work ethic, a passion for the legal field, and a desire to help others.
Thank You To Our Generous 2025 Sponsors
Featured Sponsor
Bass, Berry & Sims PLC
Supporting Sponsor
Garza Law Firm
Table Sponsors
Associate Dean Briana Rosenbaum, in Honor of Henry C. Hill
Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC
Bass, Berry & Sims PLC
Beth Ford & Mike Driskill
Brock Shipe Klenk PLC
Col. And Mrs. Wayne E. Dillingham
Dean Lonnie T. Brown, Jr. and Kim Brown
Foothills Physical Therapy Group
Husch Blackwell
Kramer Rayson LLP
Lewis Thomason, PC
Mr. Richard Rose
Polsinelli PC
Professor Michelle Kwon
University of Tennessee College of Law Legal Clinic
University of Tennessee Division of Access and Engagement
2024 R.B.J. Campbelle, Jr. Award Recipient
Dr. Harold A. Middlebrook, Sr.
The R.B.J. Campbelle, Jr. Award, named to honor the college’s first African American graduate, recognizes extraordinary efforts to advance the cause of equality and justice.
2024 Keynote Speaker
Teresa Wynn Roseborough
Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary at The Home Depot
___________________________________
2024 Black Law Students Association Award Recipients
Bryce D. Bradley
Julian Blackshear, Jr. Outstanding Student Award
This award is given to the 3L student who exhibits leadership, outstanding character, and is a student of distinction.
Gerrard Cox
R.B.J. Campbelle, Jr. Leadership Award
This award is given to the 3L student who exhibits leadership, social consciousness, dedication, passion, vision, and charisma.
Tatiyana Lewis
Frank Ennix Award for Excellence
This award is given to the 3L student with a commitment to excellence, exemplary character, a strong work ethic, a passion for the legal field, and a desire to help others.
The Julian Blackshear, Jr. Scholarship Gala celebrates students, alumni and friends who have positively impacted the College of Law through their commitment to diversity and inclusion. This signature event, hosted by the Dean’s Office and the Black Law Students Association, honors alumnus Julian Blackshear, Jr., one of the first African American graduates of the College of Law. By honoring this distinguished alumnus, the college also celebrates its strong and enduring commitment to diversity and inclusion. The annual gala benefits the Julian Blackshear, Jr. Scholarship and recognizes the R.B.J. Campbelle, Jr. Award honoree and outstanding Black Law Students Association members.
Julian Blackshear, Jr.
Julian Blackshear, Jr. completed his bachelor’s degree at Morehouse College, where he was a student of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and enrolled in law school in 1963. His legal education was preempted from 1965 until 1969 by his service in the U.S. Air Force during the Vietnam War. Upon returning to Knoxville in 1969, he continued his education at UT and completed his third year of law school. Following graduation, he was a civil rights attorney for five years (under the auspices of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund) as an associate of the Law Firm of Avon Williams. From there, he had a long and successful career as a founder and managing partner of a 15-person law firm and outside general counsel of Nashville Metropolitan Transit Authority, Citizens Savings Bank and Trust Company, and Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. After retiring, he continued to share his knowledge and wisdom as an adjunct professor of political science at Tennessee State University. He maintains strong ties with the civic organizations today, including the Napier-Looby Bar Association as a Living Legend. In addition to these accolades, Blackshear is an accomplished trumpeter and played in various jazz and R&B bands.
As a member of the African American and legal communities, Blackshear’s ambition in life has been to help those around him bring their own goals to fruition.
Lillian M. Blackshear
2025 Keynote Speaker & R. B. J. Campbelle, Jr. Award Recipient
Lillian Blackshear is a partner in the Nashville office of law firm Bass, Berry & Sims PLC. Exclusively focused on public finance, she represents an array of governmental entities, investment banks and commercial banks on debt issuances throughout Tennessee. Since 2010, she has represented clients in public finance transactions totaling more than $10 billion. Blackshear served on the Executive Committee of Bass, Berry & Sims from 2020 through 2023 and is past chair of the firm’s African American Affinity Group.
From 2014 through 2023, Blackshear served as a commissioner on the Metropolitan Planning Commission in Nashville. She is also a founding board member and secretary for the Tennessee Chapter of Women in Public Finance. She is a member of the Leadership Nashville Class of 2024, a 2023 Fellow of the Tennessee Bar Foundation and a 2022 Fellow of the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity.
In 2022, she was awarded the 40 Under 40 Nation’s Best Advocates Award and the 40 Under 40 Excellence in Leadership Award by the National Bar Association. She has been named to the Nashville Post’s In Charge list for the Legal Sector since 2022 and was a past 40 Under 40 honoree by the Nashville Business Journal. She is an avid supporter of the Julian Blackshear, Jr. Scholarship at the College of Law, has funded scholarships at her undergraduate alma mater, Spelman College, and is a past corporate fundraising volunteer for Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee. Most importantly, she is the proud wife of Clifton Peay and the proud mom of sons, Leo and Julian.
Blackshear is the daughter of Dr. Margaret Ann and Atty. Julian Blackshear, Jr. She graduated summa cum laude from both Spelman College in 2005 and the University of Tennessee College of Law in 2008.
2025 Black Law Students Association Award Recipients
KAMERON JOHNSON
Julian Blackshear, Jr. Outstanding Student Award
This award is given to the 3L student who exhibits leadership, outstanding character, and is a student of distinction.
TRINITY SANDIFER
R.B.J. Campbelle, Jr. Leadership Award
This award is given to the 3L student who exhibits leadership, social consciousness, dedication, passion, vision, and charisma.
SELENA HAWKER
Frank Ennix Award for Excellence
This award is given to the 3L student with a commitment to excellence, exemplary character, a strong work ethic, a passion for the legal field, and a desire to help others.
Thank You To Our Generous 2025 Sponsors
Featured Sponsor
Bass, Berry & Sims PLC
Supporting Sponsor
Garza Law Firm
Table Sponsors
Associate Dean Briana Rosenbaum, in Honor of Henry C. Hill
Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC
Bass, Berry & Sims PLC
Beth Ford & Mike Driskill
Brock Shipe Klenk PLC
Col. And Mrs. Wayne E. Dillingham
Dean Lonnie T. Brown, Jr. and Kim Brown
Foothills Physical Therapy Group
Husch Blackwell
Kramer Rayson LLP
Lewis Thomason, PC
Mr. Richard Rose
Polsinelli PC
Professor Michelle Kwon
University of Tennessee College of Law Legal Clinic
University of Tennessee Division of Access and Engagement
2024 R.B.J. Campbelle, Jr. Award Recipient
Dr. Harold A. Middlebrook, Sr.
The R.B.J. Campbelle, Jr. Award, named to honor the college’s first African American graduate, recognizes extraordinary efforts to advance the cause of equality and justice.
2024 Keynote Speaker
Teresa Wynn Roseborough
Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary at The Home Depot
___________________________________
2024 Black Law Students Association Award Recipients
Bryce D. Bradley
Julian Blackshear, Jr. Outstanding Student Award
This award is given to the 3L student who exhibits leadership, outstanding character, and is a student of distinction.
Gerrard Cox
R.B.J. Campbelle, Jr. Leadership Award
This award is given to the 3L student who exhibits leadership, social consciousness, dedication, passion, vision, and charisma.
Tatiyana Lewis
Frank Ennix Award for Excellence
This award is given to the 3L student with a commitment to excellence, exemplary character, a strong work ethic, a passion for the legal field, and a desire to help others.
A look back at the 2024 Julian Blackshear, Jr. Scholarship Gala
2024 R.B.J. Campbelle, Jr. Award Recipient
The R.B.J. Campbelle, Jr. Award, named to honor the college’s first African American graduate, recognizes extraordinary efforts to advance the cause of equality and justice.
DR. HAROLD A. MIDDLEBROOK, SR.
Dr. Harold A. Middlebrook, Sr. received his bachelor’s degree from Morehouse College in 1963. He was ordained as a minister in 1966 and attended LeMoyne-Owen College and Memphis Theological Seminary in the 1970s.
His work as a civil rights activist began while at Morehouse where he first met Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Middlebrook participated in several Atlanta sit ins where he was jailed with King, resulting in a life-long relationship with King and his family. Middlebrook served as youth minister at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta where King and his father were pastors.
Middlebrook would go on to direct the Selma, Alabama boycotts and organize voter registration campaigns. He also participated in the Memphis sanitation workers’ strike alongside King. Middlebrook witnessed his friend and mentor’s tragic death, when King was killed at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis. Middlebrook and others were in Memphis to meet with King and plan the next mass march in support of the strike.
Middlebrook moved to Knoxville in 1977 to pastor at Mount Calvary Baptist Church. In 1980, he founded the Canaan Baptist Church of Christ, which he led until his retirement in 2013. In addition to ministering to his congregants, he has continued his life of service in East Tennessee. Two notable examples include the founding in 1986 of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemoration Commission of Greater Knoxville, which he chaired until 2000, and his service as a director of the Knoxville Area Urban League.
2024 Keynote Speaker
TERESA WYNN ROSEBOROUGH
As Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary at The Home Depot, Teresa Wynn Roseborough is responsible for the company’s legal functions, government relations and external communications. She also serves as a liaison between the board of directors and the company and is responsible for all corporate governance matters.
Prior to her role at The Home Depot, Roseborough practiced law as a partner at the Sutherland, Asbill & Brennan firm (now Eversheds Sutherland). Her professional journey also includes an impressive record of government service. She served as deputy assistant attorney general for the U.S. Department of Justice and worked with the U.S. Department of Defense in the Federal Republic of Germany. She also clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens and Judge James Dickson Phillips of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
A native of Memphis, Tennessee, Roseborough earned a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Virginia, a master’s degree in education from Boston University, and a juris doctor from the University of North Carolina School of Law, where she was editor-in-chief of the Law Review.
2024 BLACK LAW STUDENTS ASSOCIATION AWARD RECIPIENTS
BRYCE D. BRADLEY
Julian Blackshear, Jr. Outstanding Student Award
This award is given to the 3L student who exhibits leadership, outstanding character, and is a student of distinction.
GERRARD COX
R.B.J. Campbelle, Jr. Leadership Award
This award is given to the 3L student who exhibits leadership, social consciousness, dedication, passion, vision, and charisma.
TATIYANA LEWIS
Frank Ennix Award for Excellence
This award is given to the 3L student with a commitment to excellence, exemplary character, a strong work ethic, a passion for the legal field, and a desire to help others.
