City of Birmingham to recognize judge at October event

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ( WIAT ) — The City of Birmingham will pay tribute to judge U.W. Clemon during its “AWAKEN 2024” event Oct. 25.

According to the city, the community is invited to gather and celebrate with a day of music and informative discussion. The event will take place at the Birmingham Museum of Art. Doors open at 9:30 a.m., and the event starts at 10 a.m. It is a celebration of changemakers who have impacted the city.

“Judge U.W. Clemon has devoted his life to justice. Not only does he have a brilliant legal mind but he has a heart for the disenfranchised,” Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin said in a statement. “Our community is better because of the battles he bravely fought. We are proud to honor him.”

Clemon has represented Black plaintiffs in major civil rights litigation. He was one of the two African Americans elected to the Alabama State Senate since Reconstruction. In 1980, he was appointed by then-President Jimmy Carter as the first Black federal judge in the history of the state with unanimous approval from the U.S. Senate.

CBS 42 Evening News Anchor Sherri Jackson will moderate “The Movement Continues” discussion at the event.

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