ADA CEO Dunn Pearson Cited in Article_African American History Museum Event Sponsored by Leading Global Law Firm

A&O Shearman hosts museum’s Jeffrey Fletcher

at special ‘Juneteenth’ holiday artifact presentation

NEW YORK CITY (June 30, 2025) – Emphasizing the “long game” of civil rights and the importance of recognizing and acknowledging black history in the United States, Jeffrey A. Fletcher, executive director of the Rudy & Calvin Fletcher African American History Museum of Stratford, CT, was the primary guest presenter before more than 60 employees at A&O Shearman LLC in New York City on June 17.

Included in Fletcher’s presentation - as part of A&O Shearman’s celebration of the “Juneteenth” national holiday in the U.S. - was a hands-on display of historical artifacts including human shackles and other slave-era human restraints exemplifying the challenges and contributions that African Americans have made throughout American history.

Fletcher explained to the audience - that included a live video feed to the firm’s employees located in Houston, TX - the history of the Rudy & Calvin Fletcher African American History Museum and the role that his mother, Rudy, played, among others, and whose inspiration and memory continues to carry him forward.

The museum’s more than 400 artifacts and exhibits currently on display in Stratford, CT, reflect decades of turbulent times for African Americans in the United States during the period of slavery and the Civil Rights movements. The total collection including items in storage and curation numbers more than 120,000, Fletcher noted.

Juneteenth became a U.S. federal holiday on June 17, 2021 “only four years ago,” Fletcher said, when then U.S. President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into law. He touched briefly on how recent events and the current political climate represent a backpedaling to the spirit and intention of the establishment of Juneteenth.

The negative rhetoric, voter suppression, restrictions on free speech and the attempts to dismantle African American history “is happening today,” Fletcher said, noting that it is important for pushback to offset these negative current realities including the efforts of firms like A&O Shearman and its own strong commitment to diversity and inclusion.

Fletcher outlined his and the museum’s relationship and history with A&O Shearman that began four years ago when the firm was then known as Shearman & Sterling LLC. Through the advocacy of Partner and General Counsel, William J.F. Roll, III, Fletcher said, the firm provided vital seed funding for the establishment of the current museum and he and the museum’s Board of Directors look forward to building upon this relationship in the future.

Joining Fletcher at the podium on June 17 was Dunn Pearson, CEO of All Dunn Advertising and former member of the O’Jays musical group, and Chris Carroll, grant writer for the Town of Stratford, where the museum is planning to move to a new location with more than double the current display space.