James E. Coleman ‘66 Receives 2024 John and Elizabeth Phillips Award
Courtesy of Sean Ricard
By ALLEGRA LAI, JINMIN LEE, JAYDEN OH, and CIARA O’NEILL
On Oct. 25, the trustees and principal Rawson took the stage, honoring law professor Jim Coleman ‘66 with the John and Elizabeth Phillips Award. After his speech describing his educational journey in the assembly hall, Coleman joined students in the Elting Room to give advice.
The John and Elizabeth Phillips Award, the Academy’s most prestigious award, is given to an Exonian graduate who exemplifies Exeter’s core values. After graduating from Exeter in 1966 and attending law school at Columbia University, Coleman has strived to uphold equality of the law. He has been a leader of nationally recognized efforts on behalf of death penalty reform, advocated for the wrongfully convicted, and mentored and inspired a new generation of lawyers. He was the chair of the committee that investigated and exonerated the sexual assault scandal at Duke University and is currently a law professor at Duke.
Coleman reflected on his initial reaction. “I got a call from my assistant that somebody from Exeter had called and wanted to see if I would accept the award. It was the most meaningful award I’ve ever received. My friends know how much the Exeter experience meant to me,” Coleman described.
In his speech, Coleman recalled his challenging academic journey. “From kindergarten through high school. I attended racially segregated public schools. During that period, I was never in a classroom with a white student or teacher. I graduated from Second Ward in 1965, and the Charlotte Mecklenburg County School Board was indifferent to the education of black children when I was a student in the 1950s. Its funding decisions and publicities ensured that Second Ward would be educationally inferior to the public schools attended by white students. Although Brown v. Board of Education had been decided in 1950, our Second Ward was as segregated and unequal in 1965 as it had been in 1923 when the school first opened.”
Coleman added, “Even so, our teachers believed faith would emerge from the racism and indifference that obstructed their effort. Their encouragement gave students self-confidence that they could succeed. When I left Charlotte in 1965 to come to Eexter, I had no doubt I would succeed in New Hampshire. That self-confidence was the most important product of my early education in segregated schools in Charlotte. My journey to Exeter began in the summer of 1964 when I met my guidance counselor, Marjorie Bein. She was the most important educator in my life because she helped me attend Exeter Summer.”
After attending Exeter Summer, Coleman enrolled at Exeter for a postgraduate Year. Coleman’s Exeter experience was enhanced by his track-and-field coach, Ralph Lovshin, who advocated for black students at Exeter even before Coleman’s time. Today, Lovshin’s legendary status at Exeter is cemented as the Ralph Lovshin Track and Soccer Field. “The person I knew best was a coach on the track team. Coach Lovshin, a legendary coach who had done a lot for black students who had been at Exeter before I was here.”
After his year at Exeter, Coleman strived to make a strong impact on the legal system. He has held steadfast to his belief that everybody deserves equal representation. Alumnus Hunter Ryerson ‘24, who has discussed criminal justice at length with Coleman in the past, reflected on Coleman’s approach to the law. “There are so many cases where those without privileges fall victim to a malpractice of the law,” he said. “So when Coleman is working with people who claim that they’re wrongfully convicted in prison, he’s working with people in places where justice does not always persevere. He tries to rectify the problems in our legal system. He’s smoothing out some of the incidental wrongs and preserving the essential democracy and fairness that defines our country.”
Other students found inspiration in Coleman’s perseverance. “The assembly was enjoyable because I could fully understand why he won the award,” commented lower Holden Sage-Murillo. “After hearing his life story about growing up in a segregated background, I could grasp why he strived for equal representation of justice in court.”
“I thought Mr. Coleman was a great speaker,” agreed lower Aslan Bilimer. “He was able to inspire the student body in a way that not many assembly speakers can. Hearing about his educational journey and the obstacles he had to overcome to attend Phillips Exeter was a reminder and a testament to the value of Exeter’s education and education at large.”
“I liked how he explained his story in Charlotte, North Carolina,” reflected upper Sean Murthy. “He illustrated his experience in education and emphasized the importance of seeking truth. I’m more grateful for my education at Exeter.”
Though Coleman’s career has taken him all over the United States, from Ivy League schools and prestigious law firms to high-profile jobs and courtrooms, Coleman admits that everything took off for him upon his fateful arrival at Exeter. “It started here in New Hampshire in the summer of 1964 when I arrived at Exeter fortified by the confidence and courage instilled in me by teachers at segregated public schools in Charlotte,” Coleman explained.
Coleman concluded, “Never, never, never give up. My presence at Exeter changed both me and Exeter. My life’s story became a part of Exeter’s story, and my subsequent accomplishments became part of Exeter’s legacy.”
