Richard H. Dinkins, former Tennessee Court of Appeals Judge and long-time civil rights activist, has a lasting mark in city, state, and national history. Motivated by his great-grandfather, Reverend C. S. Dinkins – who was born into slavery but went on to graduate from Roger Williams University and eventually became president of Selma University. Because of him and many other successful leaders in his family’s history who fought for equal justice, Judge Dinkins devoted his career to ending inequities throughout his community.

Growing up in Memphis, TN, Dinkins witnessed racial disparities and segregation. The youngest son of Rev. Charles L. Dinkins, Richard was motivated at an early age to succeed. He knew that success was possible by pursuing an education. After receiving a bachelor’s degree in English from Denison University (1974), Richard was accepted into the Vanderbilt School of Law, where his passion for civil rights flourished. In his third year at Vanderbilt, Richard’s career in civil rights litigation took a promising start while clerking for the Honorable Avon N. Williams Jr. – the renowned civil rights attorney who went on to become a State Senator. Upon graduation from Vanderbilt (1978), Dinkins officially joined the firm of Avon Williams Jr. One year later, the two joined forces and launched Williams & Dinkins. Richard became instrumental in supporting, then leading several landmark cases, assuming the role of representing Plaintiffs in the notable Nashville desegregation case, Geier v. Sundquist (also known as Geier v. Tennessee) after Williams’ passing, seeing it through to completion in 2006. In 1998, Richard helped initiate and settle the historic settlement of a 43-year-old school desegregation case against the Nashville School System. This case signified the end of nearly three decades of court supervision of the Metro schools. In 2003, he was elected to serve as a Chancery Court Judge, Part IV in Davidson County. In 2008, former Governor Phil Bredesen appointed Dinkins to the Tennessee Court of Appeals. In 2022, after 14 years of service and jurisdiction, Judge Richard Dinkins retired.