The Federal Bar Association, Eastern District of Michigan Chapter, hosted its “2024 Wade H. McCree Jr. Luncheon for the Advancement of Social Justice” earlier this month at the Detroit Athletic Club. Stephani LaBelle (center), director of Project Clean Slate, was this year’s recipient of the Wade H. McCree Jr. Award for the Advancement of Social Justice. Project Clean Slate is a City of Detroit initiative that helps residents expunge criminal convictions and improve access to better employment, housing, and educational opportunities. Among those on hand to congratulate LaBelle at the luncheon were (left to right) FBA President George Donnini of Butzel Long, LaBelle’s daughters Anna and Nora, and keynote speaker Charles B. Dew, Ephraim Williams Professor of American History, Emeritus, at Williams College. Dew’s teaching at Williams focused on the American South, the era of the Civil War and Reconstruction, and the institution of slavery. His most recent book is “The Making of a Racist: A Southerner Reflects on Family, History, and the Slave Trade.”

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