Judge Craig S. Strong receives Distinguished Alumni Award at MSU College of Law Commencement Ceremony

Judge Craig S. Strong received the George N. Bashara Jr. Distinguished Alumni Award at Michigan State University College of Law Commencement on Friday, May 10, 2024.

Judge Strong, a 1973 graduate of the Detroit College of Law, was presented the award by Courtney Gabbara Agrusa, president of MSU Law Alumni Association.

Judge Strong served the region’s legal community for 43 years – beginning with the appointment as Referee in the Traffic and Ordinance Division of Recorder's Court to Judge of Wayne County’s Circuit Court.

At 29, he was elected President of the Wolverine Bar Association.

He later served as President of the Association of Black Judges of Michigan on the Representative Assembly of the State Bar of Michigan and National Chair of the National Bar Association’s Judicial Council representing Judges of Color in the United States, Canada, and Caribbean Islands.

He is a founding board member of the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History’s Annual African World Festival. He chairs an annual membership drive during Black History Month that has garnered tens of thousands of memberships. He served as an official United Nations observer of South Africa’s first all-race election, which elected Nelson Mandela as President.

Judge Strong is an active member of the National Bar Association’s Community Outreach Program. He has touched students across the country and around the world, speaking at schools in Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Barbados, Aruba, and South Africa. Among the many schools he’s visited in the U.S. are Dorsey High School and the Marcus Garvey Academy in Los Angeles.

Judge Strong is a 33-degree Prince Hall Mason. He holds lifetime memberships in Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, the NAACP, the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, and the Navy Reserve Officer Association. 

He is the recipient of numerous proclamations and awards including the State Bar of Michigan’s Distinguished Champion of Justice Award, the Soul and Spirit Humanitarian Award from Judge Damont Keith, the National Action Network’s MLK Day Justice of the People Award. He was inducted into the National Bar Association Hall of Fame and was named Distinguished Veteran of the Year by the Metropolitan Detroit Veterans Coalition at the Detroit Veterans Parade.

Judge Craig S. Strong received the George N. Bashara Jr. Distinguished Alumni Award at Michigan State University College of Law Commencement on Friday, May 10, 2024.

Judge Strong, a 1973 graduate of the Detroit College of Law, was presented the award by Courtney Gabbara Agrusa, president of MSU Law Alumni Association.

Judge Strong served the region’s legal community for 43 years – beginning with the appointment as Referee in the Traffic and Ordinance Division of Recorder's Court to Judge of Wayne County’s Circuit Court.

At 29, he was elected President of the Wolverine Bar Association.

He later served as President of the Association of Black Judges of Michigan on the Representative Assembly of the State Bar of Michigan and National Chair of the National Bar Association’s Judicial Council representing Judges of Color in the United States, Canada, and Caribbean Islands.

He is a founding board member of the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History’s Annual African World Festival. He chairs an annual membership drive during Black History Month that has garnered tens of thousands of memberships. He served as an official United Nations observer of South Africa’s first all-race election, which elected Nelson Mandela as President.

Judge Strong is an active member of the National Bar Association’s Community Outreach Program. He has touched students across the country and around the world, speaking at schools in Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Barbados, Aruba, and South Africa. Among the many schools he’s visited in the U.S. are Dorsey High School and the Marcus Garvey Academy in Los Angeles.

Judge Strong is a 33-degree Prince Hall Mason. He holds lifetime memberships in Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, the NAACP, the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, and the Navy Reserve Officer Association. 

He is the recipient of numerous proclamations and awards including the State Bar of Michigan’s Distinguished Champion of Justice Award, the Soul and Spirit Humanitarian Award from Judge Damont Keith, the National Action Network’s MLK Day Justice of the People Award. He was inducted into the National Bar Association Hall of Fame and was named Distinguished Veteran of the Year by the Metropolitan Detroit Veterans Coalition at the Detroit Veterans Parade.

Judge Craig S. Strong received the George N. Bashara Jr. Distinguished Alumni Award at Michigan State University College of Law Commencement on Friday, May 10, 2024.

Judge Strong, a 1973 graduate of the Detroit College of Law, was presented the award by Courtney Gabbara Agrusa, president of MSU Law Alumni Association.

Judge Strong served the region’s legal community for 43 years – beginning with the appointment as Referee in the Traffic and Ordinance Division of Recorder's Court to Judge of Wayne County’s Circuit Court.

At 29, he was elected President of the Wolverine Bar Association.

He later served as President of the Association of Black Judges of Michigan on the Representative Assembly of the State Bar of Michigan and National Chair of the National Bar Association’s Judicial Council representing Judges of Color in the United States, Canada, and Caribbean Islands.

He is a founding board member of the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History’s Annual African World Festival. He chairs an annual membership drive during Black History Month that has garnered tens of thousands of memberships. He served as an official United Nations observer of South Africa’s first all-race election, which elected Nelson Mandela as President.

Judge Strong is an active member of the National Bar Association’s Community Outreach Program. He has touched students across the country and around the world, speaking at schools in Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Barbados, Aruba, and South Africa. Among the many schools he’s visited in the U.S. are Dorsey High School and the Marcus Garvey Academy in Los Angeles.

Judge Strong is a 33-degree Prince Hall Mason. He holds lifetime memberships in Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, the NAACP, the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, and the Navy Reserve Officer Association. 

He is the recipient of numerous proclamations and awards including the State Bar of Michigan’s Distinguished Champion of Justice Award, the Soul and Spirit Humanitarian Award from Judge Damont Keith, the National Action Network’s MLK Day Justice of the People Award. He was inducted into the National Bar Association Hall of Fame and was named Distinguished Veteran of the Year by the Metropolitan Detroit Veterans Coalition at the Detroit Veterans Parade.