Mr. James T. McLawhorn, Jr. has led the Columbia Urban League since 1979. He has received national recognition for his work in race and community relations.
McLawhorn has received many awards, including South Carolina’s Order of the Palmetto and the National Urban League’s Whitney M. Young, Jr. Race Relations Award, and he has been inducted into the South Carolina Black Hall of Fame.
In 1985, he founded the National Black Family Summit, an action forum on family issues with emphasis on the African American community.
He earned a Bachelor of Science in political science from North Carolina A&T University and master’s degrees from University of Miami at Coral Gables and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and an honorary doctorate from College of Charleston.