by Joe Wilhelm Jr.
Staff Writer
The D.W. Perkins Bar Association has its sights set on continuing to get bigger and better during its next term as a new slate of leadership takes the helm.
“I’m very excited about our plans for the coming year,” said Leslie Scott Jean-Bart, newly elected president of the Perkins Bar. “I’ve gotten to the point where excitement has overtaken fear.”
The Daniel Webster Perkins Bar Association is named after one of the first African-Americans to practice law in Duval County. He was a proponent of civil rights and a community leader. The former Colored Lawyers Association changed its name in 1968 to honor the work of Perkins.
The mission of the Perkins Bar is to, “be that of a change agent to improve the plight of the African-American community and to erase all affects of past and present discrimination.” Part of this mission is achieved by highlighting the positive achievements of members of the African-American community, and the Association contributed to this mission by hosting Florida Supreme Court Chief Justice Peggy Quince last fall, as well as other members of the legal community throughout the term.
The Association plans to continue these programs and plans to host the newest member of the Florida Supreme Court, Justice James E.C. Perry in the fall.
Joining Jean-Bart on the board of the Perkins Bar will be President-Elect Imani Boykin, Treasurer Charles Mapson, Assistant Treasurer Dana Dorrell, Secretary Shalisa Francis and Assistant Secretary Andrea Bryant.
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