New mural honors Julius L. Chambers’ work for civil rights

A new mural unveiled Friday at Charlotte’s Julius L. Chambers High School is honoring the school’s namesake for his work in the civil rights movement.

Chambers was a founding member of the Ferguson, Stein & Chambers, the first integrated law firm in North Carolina. He litigated landmark civil rights cases, including Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education in 1971, Albemarle Paper Co. v Moody in 1975, and Shaw v. Hunt in 1996.

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Chambers had also worked alongside famed advocates and litigators, including Thurgood Marshall, Constance Baker Motley, and Robert Carter.

Julius L. Chambers High School was originally called Zebulon Vance High School, named after a Confederate soldier and former North Carolina governor. The school was renamed for Chambers in 2021 as a result of protests in Charlotte.

On Friday, school officials said the mural is another step in establishing the school’s future.

“Julius Chambers High School has not always had a good reputation in the community, and while a mural does not change who we once were, it is the start of rebranding who we have become and what our school is striving to be in the future,” assistant principal Shannon Weathers said in a statement.

The mural features a portrait of Chambers, along with the quote, “Keep Fighting to Raise the Bar,” which Weathers says is the school’s theme for the year.

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