Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Selma’s Brown Chapel AME Church was recognized during the 2025 National Equal Justice awards dinner.

The event was the Legal Defense Fund’s annual opportunity to recognize and honor pioneering leaders across civil society who have demonstrated and unwavering commitment to racial justice and Civil Rights. This year‘s celebration coincided with a historic milestone for LDF, the institution’s 85th anniversary.

Janai Nelson, President and Director-Counsel of LDF, took time to recognize the efforts of Brown Chapel AME Church during the awards dinner.

“As the eighth President and Director Counsel, it is my honor to lead this storied organization during what is both an important moment in LDF’s history and a critical juncture for the multi racial and multi ethnic democracy, we helped the form,” Nelson said. “We are honored to recognize a guardian of historic Brown Chapel AME Church Servant Pastor Leodis Strong has been a vital force and preserving the legacy and spiritual foundation of the SELMA campaign. Brown Chapel served as the central hub for organizing marches, mass meetings and legal strategy and it was a sanctuary where marchers gathered strength .Today ,Pastor Strong continues to steward its role as a sacred monument to the fight for civil rights and as a living institution committed to justice.”

Historic Brown Chapel Chief Fundraiser Bruce L. Holmes and Senior Assistant Director of Tourism and Foot Soldier Linda F. Holmes were recognized by Nelson during the event.

The gathering over 700 leaders in law, business and philanthropy honored those who made a difference, in the fight for racial justice and equality for all.

“There was an awesome tribute to the demonstrators and civil right leaders who put their lives on the line to secure the right to vote,” Holmes said.

The event started with a cocktail hour, dinner and award ceremony with a dessert reception dancing and a live band.

Since it’s founding, LDF has been a leading force in the progression of American Society, using the power of law narrative, advocacy and people to upend system of injustice and dismantle, long-standing barriers to opportunity and advancement.

Under the visionary leadership of our founder Thurgood Marshall and the intrepid legal minds that served alongside him LDF lawyers, researchers organizers and staff secured some of the most pertinent legal victories of the civil rights movement while laying the groundwork for the continued success of those of us who follow in their footsteps from desegregating public schools to ensuring fairness in housing, securing voting rights to relentlessly advocating for a criminal legal system, rooted in veritable justice, we’ve been on the front lines in the courthouses and state houses Congress and City Hall working in tandem with the communities we serve.