Belford Vance Lawson Jr. (July 9, 1901 – February 23, 1985) was an American attorney and civil rights activist who made at least eight appearances before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Lawson, the lead attorney, with assistance by Thurgood Marshall, fought back – all the way to the United States Supreme Court in New Negro Alliance v. Sanitary Grocery Co. (1938).
[10] In 1934, Lawson encouraged National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) special counsel Charles Houston to authorize Thurgood Marshall to file the case of Murray v. Maryland (1935) to challenge the state law requiring segregation in the University of Maryland School of Law.
Lawson was part of the legal team that won Henderson v. Southern Railway Company (1950), challenging the Interstate Commerce Commission's approval of railroad racial segregation practices.
The fraternity says "the purpose of the Belford V. Lawson Oratorical Contest is to identify problems or special topics of interest within society and determine how the problem or topic relates to the goals and objectives of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated.