Carolina Law Honors Fredia Banks-Marsh with Pantry Dedication

In a surprise ceremony that drew together students, faculty, staff, and alumni, Carolina Law dedicated a plaque honoring Fredia Banks-Marsh at the school’s Food for Thought Pantry on Tuesday. The Black Law Students Association (BLSA) and Student Bar Association (SBA) organized the event, recognizing Banks-Marsh’s significant contributions as co-founder of the pantry and her career-long dedication to student well-being.

The idea for the dedication grew organically from student leadership. “After the Food for Thought Pantry’s opening ceremony last semester, Josh and I discussed renaming it,” said BLSA President Aleah Wordsworth. “Mrs. Fredia was a co-founder and has dedicated much of her career to feeding students.”

To preserve the element of surprise, Wordsworth and SBA President Joshua Jacobs, working with Senior Associate Dean Kelly Podger Smith ’02, created dual announcements – one for social media that named Banks-Marsh and another more discreet version posted around campus.

When noon arrived in classroom 4085, Jacobs opened the ceremony by reflecting on Banks-Marsh’s profound impact on the community. “The Food For Thought Pantry symbolizes the selflessness of our community, and Ms. Fredia is the embodiment of that selflessness,” he said. “Every day, she opens her space to anyone who needs it and gives everything she has to see others succeed.”

Following Wordsworth’s remarks, Podger Smith read the plaque’s inscription and delivered welcome news: UNC School of Law will permanently fund the Food Pantry going forward.

A standing ovation for Banks-Marsh created what Jacobs described as the ceremony’s most powerful moment. “Everyone stood up to applaud Ms. Fredia, and in that moment, she was so speechless while she embraced her husband,” he recalled. “It was truly a beautiful moment and spoke volumes about how much our community loves her.”

The diverse crowd itself told a story about Banks-Marsh’s influence. Students from every class year joined faculty, staff, and alumni to celebrate her contributions. “It just shows how wide her reach is and how she has truly touched so many people who have walked these halls,” Jacobs noted.

Among those alumni was Law Alumni Association Vice President and adjunct professor, Scott Peeler ’97, who traveled to attend the ceremony. “In so many ways, Ms. Fredia is the heart and soul of our law school,” Peeler said. “You only have to walk past her office at any hour of the day to see students drawing inspiration, a kind and caring word, and invaluable life advice from Ms. Fredia…and plenty of faculty, staff, and alumni do too!”

Alumnus and adjunct professor Charles Plambeck ’86 spoke of Banks-Marsh’s practical approach to supporting students. “I only want to quote Ms. Fredia’s own words: ‘If you are hungry, you can’t think,'” Plambeck said. “There are so many invisible obstacles to success in law school. Ms. Fredia is a quiet ally: caring, sensitive, warm, practical, always there. She is a doer. The food pantry she created, and now fittingly bears her name, is a mark of her goodness. When we proudly say that what sets Carolina Law apart is not just the quality of our lawyers but our commitment to a better society, it is because we have been nourished by kind hearts like Ms. Fredia.”

After the formal ceremony, the gathering moved to the Food Pantry to view the newly installed plaque. Photographer Dillon Davis captured Banks-Marsh with her husband, surrounded by students and faculty who came to honor her legacy.

With the announcement of permanent funding for the Food for Thought Pantry, Banks-Marsh’s vision will continue serving Carolina Law students for years to come – a fitting tribute to someone Peeler described as “a true Carolina legend.”