History happens in Georgia; 2nd black lawyer sworn-in

By: Ethan Brisby

@ethanbrisby

www.ethanbrisby.blogspot.com

 

Toccoa, Georgia- On July 12, 2013 at approximately 1:23pm Eastern Standard Time, Chadrick Mance was sworn in as the second African American since reconstruction to become a lawyer in Stephens County, GA. Mance, a resident of Toccoa, Georgia and graduate of Morehouse College and the University of Georgia: School of Law is a man who was destined for this day. This is a man whose story resonates to the tune of “If at first you do not succeed, dust yourself off and try again.”

Last October, Mance just like thousands of other aspiring lawyers who’d sat for the Georgia Bar Exam in July waited anxiously for the results to be made public. When the names were of those who successfully passed were revealed online, one name that was glaringly absent from the list was Chad Mance.

“I felt like my life was on hold. I believed for a short while that all my work was in vain. I somehow felt I’d been cheated,” said Mance.

Just as with any other failure in life, there was a lesson to be learned for Mance.  He admits losing support after he failed the bar on his first attempt; describing his friends as having “tapped out.”

“I heard a lot of crickets. Few people called to offer support,” he added.

Not to be outdone, Mance began working to pass the bar exam on his second try. This time he took a more focused approached to learning; prioritizing his study regiment. He recalls his second go around as being a more quality over quantity approach. Then, before he knew it, the February 2013 exam was upon him. Then there were the months of wait and see between testing and results. On May 24, 2013 the good news came, as Mance excitedly read his name among the many who’d passed the Georgia State Bar Exam.

Growing up in the rural South

Growing up in the rural South Chad Mance realizes what he has and will accomplish is bigger than him. On the day he was sworn in, the Stephens County court room was almost standing room only. Local media outlets were present to document the historical day along with community members who are just proud to witness a black man bestowed with such a responsibility.

“The courtroom was filled with people of all hues. People who need something to believe in. These are people who have seen me grow up. It is especially rewarding for the older blacks in the community, “Mance explains.

Toccoa, Georgia is a town of roughly 10,000. It’s African American population makes up about 21%, official name of the middle school mascot is the Rebels. Considering the fact Toccoa is situated in Stephens County named after Alexander Hamilton-Stephens, the Vice President of the Confederacy, one can understand why Mance’s ascension illustrates what one can do.  Even in a nation where diligent discussion about race relations is taboo yet a historical frontline issue.

“Toccoa is a place that praises its black high school athletes. But many of them are presumed to be academically inadequate, they never get a tutor, so when their high school days are over, that’s it for many of them,” Mance exclaims.

The swearing in of Mance, whose father is a retired Federal Reserve Bank Auditor and mother an Operations Manager with the local Social Security Administration, brought an entire community together. On this particular occasion, the town was praising one of its sons not for his athletic prowess, but for his intellectual impetus. For about 45 minutes, members of the Stephens County community took turns speaking about what the day meant to them personally and for the entire area. It was a day that shined a line of reason on what America was meant to be.

“It’s powerful sitting outside the courthouse seeing the American flag waving in the distance,” Mance recalls in the moments before he entered into the next chapter of his young life.  

The legal world is one of the many powerful subsidiaries of democracy where blacks make up only a small percentage of professionals. According to recent figures, only 3% of attorneys in America are African American. This is a statistics Mance is well aware of and used as a motivating factor in overcoming the adversity and defeat he has faced.

“We need more people in our legal system that understand our plight, so that they can effectively improve it,” proclaimed Mance, a former high school senior class president in Toccoa.

The Molding of a Civil Rights Leader

Chad Mance was chosen in his small community at an early age to be a representative for what is

right among African American males. He served annually as the Black History Month speaker at his middle and high schools. Mance, a former saxophone player, served as the drum major in his high school band. Then when he arrived in Atlanta at Morehouse College, he beat out a highly favored opponent to earn the prestigious position of Student Government Association president.

“Being the SGA President at Morehouse taught me about power. It taught me so much about the nature of people. I had young ladies I’d never met before asking to carry my books to class and be my personal secretary,” he explains.

At a college like Morehouse, known for grooming the best and brightest young black men, and where student politics can be cut-throat, Mance says he also learned some of the dangers of what can happen when people are gunning for you.

“Overall, what I take from that experience is that if you have an agenda, you can not be afraid to push it forward,” Mance stated.

Likewise, Mance had an agenda he pushed in preparation for his law career. Just like so many young aspiring lawyers with lofty goals he expected to enroll at Harvard Law following his stint at Morehouse. He worked a very strategic platform in an effort to best position himself for Harvard Law.

“I had the Capitol Hill internship, I took Pre-Law Undergraduate Scholars courses, I took every practice LSAT exam created between 1993 and 2009,” Mance admits.

However, instead of rolling the dice on eventually being accepted at Cambridge, Mance decided to take a different route, and that’s when he looked at what UGA was offering. He began to consider what it could mean for his ability to advance through the legal ranks in the state of Georgia.

“I ultimately ended up in the place I was supposed to be,” he maintains. 

Even at UGA, Mance had to face classism as he worked to make a name for himself at a majority white institution. He describes his early transition at UGA as “rocky,” but says his merits allowed him to build a quality reputation, and eventually form relationships with people that will be future business partners and long-time associates.

Now Mance boldly asserts, “From a legal standpoint, if you want to be a player in the state of Georgia, you need to go through UGA Law.”

The Village who raised this Pioneer

When asked about mentors, Chad immediately begins to rattle off names of strong black male role models in his family. From his father whom he says showed him at an early age what a man should look like in a suit. Then to his grandfather, whom he refers to as a man of immense integrity, to an uncle described as a “rogue intellectual” who taught him to look at the world the way it could be. Mance attests he had no shortage of examples of strong men in his life from an early age.

As he grew older, and began forming his own identity, Chad took up hobbies such as painting and poetry. He just like so many African American males also began to study the lives of martyrs, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X.

“Malcolm X’s autobiography changed my life. It influenced me so much that I read halfway through the dictionary,” he stated.  “I wanted to debate like him. I wanted to speak like him. I wanted to command a crowd like him. I wanted to control a room like him.”

Morehouse students are taught that they stand on the shoulders of those who came before them. Thus, Mance when questioned about other great minds he studies and people that have influenced his perspective of life; he once more began to rattle off name after name after name of those whose writings and life he has studied or continues to study.

“Steve Jobs for his sense of unorthodox, and how he shaped the world. Bill Clinton for how he helped to change Arkansas for the better. Obama, for his sense of empathy. Dubois, Andy Young, Thurmond, Mays, Edison, Leon Higgonbothom, Cornel West “Race Matters,” “Before the Mayflower”, a book my dad made me read. I was shaped systematically,” he proclaims.

Mance gives flowers to many more whom he describes as mentors in his life who have personally molded him leading up to his historical swearing in as an attorney.

 “Tommy Dorch, and how he took 100 Black Men global, he taught me about entrepreneurship.” His voice then went into a quiet still as he finished with a heartfelt, “Judge Hatchet, she’s been like a mom to me,” Mance concluded. 

In the future, this freshly minted African American lawyer plans to partner with a college classmate to start a firm in Georgia. A firm he proclaims will become one of the “pre-eminent trial firms in that state.” His partner in this venture happens to be a white American with longstanding connections in the legal realm. Mance believes this partnership represents a new generation of lawyers in America --- one forming coalitions across racial lines.

He adds, “We want to redefine the status quo, using technology, political and legal prowess, and business savvy to advance the practice of law.”

As far as social responsibility is concerned, Mance is also spear-heading a legal movement for the under 30 young professionals and students. As for what he did to celebrate his swearing-in; Mance quietly made his way to a local non-profit agency where he spoke to a small group of youngsters. 

Above all this Georgia son states, “I see myself with a lovely wife, beautiful children, and a career that helps people. I understand, I have the ability to take forward things that I believe.”