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Marquis D. Street
, known among his classmates and friends as Marcus, or simply Mike,
graduated from
North Carolina
A&T
State
University
in 1968 with a B.S. degree in History. While he was a student at A&T
he participated in Army R.O.T.C. He earned the rank of Cadet Colonel and
served as Brigade Commander of Army R.O.T.C. during his senior year. He
received a Commission as a Second Lieutenant in June 1968. He was fully
prepared to enter upon active duty as a Field Artillery officer when he
learned that he had been awarded a full scholarship to study law at the
University of Iowa College of Law beginning in August, 1968. He accepted
the challenge, moved to
Iowa City
,
Iowa
and in May, 1971 earned the Doctor of Jurisprudence (J. D.) degree.
While attending law school he worked part-time with Hawkeye Area Legal
Services in the
Davenport
,
Iowa
office. In addition to meeting and advising legal aid clients on civil
matters, he also regularly advised inmates at Anamosa State Prison on
civil matters in which they were involved as parties, all under the
direction of the Director of Legal Services.
Upon
graduation from law school in May, 1971 he successfully passed the Iowa
State Bar Examination and prepared to enter upon active duty as a Second
Lieutenant in the U.S. Army Judge Advocates General's Corps as a
licensed attorney. However, the U.S. Army delayed his entry upon active
duty until November, 1972. He had not registered to sit for the North
Carolina State Bar Examination in July, 1971 because he firmly believed
that his next job would be the fulfillment of his military obligation
under his Commission. He returned to
Greensboro
and began the process of finding employment. After many rejections by
law firms and corporations in
Greensboro
due to the fact that he did not have a
North Carolina
law license, he was hired by Dr. Lewis C. Dowdy, Chancellor of North
Carolina A&T State University, as Special Assistant for Legal
Affairs and Assistant Professor of Political Science. He settled in and
fulfilled his contractual obligations to Dr. Dowdy and to the Chairman
of the Political Science Department during the 1971 school year.
In
January, 1972 he accepted a part-time position as Legal Assistant to
Attorney Henry E. Frye, who at the time was busy organizing Greensboro
National Bank and serving as a representative in the NC General
Assembly. After completing his responsibilities on the
A&T
University
campus during the day, he worked at night for the law firm of Frye,
Johnson & Barbee. His responsibilities included researching legal
issues and summarizing case files by writing memorandums that Attorney
Frye consulted in resolving cases. It was during this period that he was
introduced to and developed skill in the area of negligence and
representing clients who had been injured in automobile accidents. At
the conclusion of his contracts with
North Carolina
A&T
State
University
on
June 30, 1972
, he began his full-time study of
North Carolina
law in preparation for sitting for the North Carolina State Bar
Examination. He sat for the NC State Bar Examination in July, 1972. In
August, 1972 he was notified that he passed the N.C. State Bar
Examination and he was licensed to practice law in
North Carolina
in August, 1972. He was immediately hired as an Associate Attorney by
the law firm of Frye, Johnson & Barbee in
Greensboro
.
In
November, 1972 he served active duty for training at the United States
Army Field Artillery School at
Fort Sill
,
Oklahoma
. Upon graduation in March 1973 he was given the choice of remaining on
active duty and serving in Field Artillery for two years; remaining on
active duty and, while serving in Field Artillery, applying for a
transfer to the Judge Advocate General's Corps and completing a four
year commitment; or returning to civilian life and serving in a U.S.
Army Reserve unit if a slot was available in a Reserve unit within fifty
miles of Greensboro, N.C. He chose to return to civilian life and
continue building his legal career since the Vietnam War was winding
down and officers were not in such high demand. He returned to his
position with Frye, Johnson and Barbee and practiced Criminal and Civil
law until January, 1974 before accepting another position in higher
education.
He
had developed a reputation in the field of higher education
administration and higher education law while employed at N.C.
A&T
State
University
. In January, 1974 he was sought out and offered the position of
Assistant to the Vice-Chancellor for Administration at the
University
of
North Carolina
at
Chapel Hill
.
Legislation
had recently been passed by the North Carolina General Assembly that
merged the sixteen state owned colleges and university campuses into one
administrative unit. The Consolidated University of North Carolina
System was comprised of General Administration as the governing body and
sixteen constituent universities that retained their individual names,
but which universities were subject to the legal and administrative
oversight of General Administration. The office of the Vice-Chancellor
for Administration functioned as the law firm for the UNC-Chapel Hill
campus, as well as worked with other constituent universities to ensue
uniform compliance with the legislation that gave birth to the
Consolidated University of North Carolina System. Among his many
responsibilities, he also served as the first Chairman of the Residence
Status Committee, a group of administrators from each school on campus,
which administered a new law that permitted students to offer evidence
to prove their intent to be
North Carolina
residents in order to qualify for instate tuition.
In
November, 1975 he made the decision to establish his own law firm and to
return to
Greensboro
to engage in the practice of civil and criminal law. Over the course of
the last thirty-one years he has represented clients in numerous county
courts, the North Carolina Court of Appeals, the North Carolina Supreme
Court and the United States Supreme Court. He is licensed to practice
law in both Iowa and North Carolina; the United States District Courts
for the Middle and Western Districts of North Carolina; and the Supreme
Court of the United States of America. In addition, he is certified by
the Disputes Resolution Commission of North Carolina as a Mediator in
Superior Court civil cases.
He
has been very active in community affairs in
Greensboro
. Among other endeavors he has served as president of the Greensboro
Young Men's Club; Vice-Chairman of the Greensboro Human Relations
Commission; Chairman of the Hayes-Taylor Y.M.C.A. Board of Management
for twelve years, which merits a tie for second longest-serving chairman
with Dr. John Tarpley; Graduate of Leadership Greensboro;
Parliamentarian, North Carolina A&T State University National Alumni
Association; Chairman of the Northern Piedmont Y.M.C.A. Cluster (N.C.
and Southern Virginia); and established the Street-Nasir Scholarship at
Hayes-Taylor Y.M.C.A. He presently serves as a Life Member of the
Hayes-Taylor YMCA Board of Management.
He
has received recognition for his service to the Greensboro Community and
the State of
North Carolina
. Among his many honors are: Member of the Hall of Fame at Hayes-Taylor
YMCA; citation from the North Carolina Human Relations Commission for
service in the area of human relations and efforts to promote
understanding, respect and goodwill among all North Carolinians;
recipient of the Anthony Bowen Award from the National Consortium of
Black YMCA's for outstanding volunteer service; Hayes-Taylor YMCA
Citizenship and Service to Youth Award; Hayes-Taylor YMCA Man of the
Year Award; Hayes-Taylor YMCA Jimmie L. Barber Leadership A ward;
Lifetime Service Award for Service to Youth from Brothers Organized to
Save Others (BOTSO); Greensboro Branch NAACP Supportive and Community
Services; and the Greensboro Young Men's Club Distinguished Community
Service Award.
Attorney
Street served as Chairman of the Hayes-Taylor YMCA Board of Management
during the construction of the new and renovated portion of the building
from 1983 through 1995. During this ambitious phase in Hayes-Taylor's
development Attorney Street, along with a five-member building
committee, met every Thursday evening for three consecutive years and
worked with the director and the architects making sure that every step
along the way was a firm one. The building committee fought inflation,
met challenges and debate head-on, overcame limited funding as well as
the untimely death of the project's architect, Mr. William
"blue" Jenkins, all in an effort to make sure
East Greensboro
has a facility and programs that would stand the test of time. The
gymnasium at the new and renovated Hayes-Taylor YMCA is named in honor
of
Attorney Marquis D. Street
.
Marquis
enjoys golf and international travel. So far his international travels
have included trips of varying duration to
Hong Kong
,
Macau
,
China
,
Malaysia
,
India
,
Spain
,
Italy
,
France
,
Morocco
,
Brussels
,
Amsterdam
,
Denmark
,
Norway
,
Sweden
,
Finland
,
Russia
,
Estonia
,
England
,
Mexico
,
Bermuda
and the
Bahamas
. The one lesson that he has learned from international travel is that
people are the same all over the world, and people desire the same
things for themselves and their families, without regard to skin tone,
culture, religion, or governmental system and without regard to what
part of the world they call home. |
