Retired Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Robert Benham was recently presented with the Ivan Allen Jr. Prize for Social Courage, which honors "individuals who have stood up for moral principles at the risk of their careers, livelihoods and even their lives," according to organizers at Georgia Tech. The award is named for former Atlanta Mayor Ivan Allen Jr., a Tech graduate who is remembered as the only Southern white elected official to testify before Congress in support of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The event was held in Midtown at the Biltmore Ballrooms on Feb. 8. The prize includes a $100,000 stipend, funded by a grant from the Wilbur and Hilda Glenn Family Foundation. Selection is by a committee led by the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts. The school noted in its presentation that Benham was the first African American to hold various positions in law in Georgia, including being the first African American to establish a law practice in his hometown of Cartersville, first president of the Bartow County Bar Association, first judge on the Georgia State Court of Appeals and first African American to win a statewide election since Reconstruction. Benham stepped down from the state high court in March 2020, having served more than three decades since his appointment to the court in December 1989 by Gov. Joe Frank Harris, including as chief justice from 1995 to 2001.