Angela Gomes Receives Massachusetts Black Women Attorneys’ Ida B. Wells Award
Boston, MA - Sullivan & Worcester is pleased to announce that Angela Gomes was an honoree for the Massachusetts Black Women Attorneys’ Ida B. Wells Award. The Ida B. Wells Award is given to an African American or Black female attorney who exemplifies the pioneering spirit and courage of Ida B. Wells, as well as those whose intellect, skill and achievement make them great contributors to the Massachusetts legal community. Angela was honored at an awards celebration held at the Mandarin Oriental, Boston.
"I am incredibly humbled to be recognized among a group of incredible African American women, past and present," said Angela. "Ida B. Wells was a trailblazer for women of color and to be recognized by the Massachusetts Black Women Lawyers in her name is a true honor."
Angela is a corporate partner at Sullivan & Worcester LLP and co-leader of Sullivan’s REIT Practice Group, as well as co-chair of Sullivan’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee. She focuses on securities regulation and corporate finance, in addition to handling general corporate matters and mergers and acquisitions. She advises clients, including public companies, on a broad range of corporate and securities matters, including securities law compliance, disclosure and periodic reporting, and corporate governance matters. Angela also advises a nonprofit organizations on general corporate law matters, as well as state and federal tax-exempt status. In 2017, Angela was named as one of Massachusetts Lawyers’ Weekly’s Top Women of Law, and in 2015 she also was named as one of Ten Outstanding Young Leaders by the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce. In April 2014, Boston University School of Law awarded Angela its Alumni Pro Bono Award in appreciation of her commitment to pro bono work. Angela served as president of the Massachusetts Black Lawyers Association from April 2015 to April 2016. Savoy Magazine recently named Angela to its Most Influential Black Lawyers List.
Ida B. Wells-Barnett (1862-1931) was a newspaper editor and journalist who went on to lead the American anti-lynching crusade. Wells-Barnett was born a daughter of slaves in Holly Springs, Mississippi. Despite this adversity, she managed to attend Rust College and Fisk University. Wells-Barnett was strong-willed and spirited. Once she was forcibly removed from her seat for refusing to move to a “colored car” on the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad. Her suit against the railroad for violating her civil rights was rejected by the Tennessee Supreme Court. This event and the legal struggle which followed it encouraged Wells-Barnett to continue to oppose racial injustice toward African-Americans.
Wells-Barnett wrote for the Conservator, published a book-length expose of lynching (The Red Record, 1895), and organized women regarding several causes, from anti-lynching to suffrage. She served as secretary of the National AfroAmerican Council, and in 1910 she founded and became the first president of the Negro Fellowship League. She attended the 1909 meeting of the Niagara Movement; the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People grew out of this conference.
About the Massachusetts Black Women Attorneys (MBWA)
The MBWA was founded in 1981 with a mission to advance justice for all people and to promote the professional advancement of Black women attorneys. Every year, the MBWA creates and sponsors educational seminars, lecture series, and panel discussions for its members and the legal community at large.
About Sullivan
Sullivan & Worcester (Sullivan) is a leading AmLaw 200 law firm. With over 200 attorneys in Boston, London, New York, Tel Aviv and Washington, DC, they guide organizations that are rewriting the rules. Sullivan’s clients, including Fortune 500 companies and emerging businesses, rely on Sullivan’s strategic vision, comfort with complexity and intense focus on results. As a global law firm, Sullivan represents clients around the world and has a deep bench for working on a variety of matters and issues affecting clients.