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| Vol. 17, No. 3 | Sept. 18, 1997 |
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| Vol. 17, No. 3 | Sept. 18, 1997 |
Beverly McQueary Smith, who is married to Vice President for Student Life Roland M. Smith, became president-elect of the National Bar Association (NBA), which represents the nation's 18,000 African-American attorneys, at its 72nd annual meeting held in Minneapolis. She will be installed as president of the organization at its next annual meeting in Memphis in August 1998.
This year, she will set in motion the strategic plan for her administration and fill in for the president, Randy K. Jones of San Diego, as needed.
McQueary Smith said she envisions the NBA as the premier vehicle for securing and safeguarding the civil, political and economic rights of African Americans.
"To ensure that NBA goals are met, African-American law students, attorneys and judges should become political and community activists and a presence in town halls, state houses and court houses," she said.
NBA also should take a leadership role in educating African-American youth through active participation in educational organizations and governing boards to improve educational and economic opportunities, she said, adding that the NBA should also be vigilant in protecting human rights and bringing about changes in African-American communities.
Modern technology makes it possible for members to communicate quickly and easily so that the organization can act effectively in the public arena when the need arises, McQueary Smith said.
A graduate of Jersey City State College, with a master's degree in English from Rutgers University, McQueary Smith holds a law degree from New York University School of Law and a master of laws degree from Harvard Law School. She has received several professional awards and served as an official election observer in South Africa in 1994. She is member of the bar in the District of Columbia, West Virginia, Texas and New Jersey.
Her community involvement includes serving on the boards of the Jersey City Medical Center and the Consumer Union, the publisher of Consumer Reports. She also chairs the Southern Africa Environment Project and is a life member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
She has been on the faculty of the Touro College: Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center in New York since 1988, where she teach contracts, environmental and consumer law.
