Julius Chambers, North Carolina civil rights leader and attorney, dies at 76

CHARLOTTE, N.C. –  Julius Chambers, a Charlotte attorney whose practice was in the forefront of the civil rights movement in North Carolina, has died. He was 76.

A statement issued Saturday by his law firm said Chambers died Friday after months of declining health. A specific cause of death wasn't given.

In 1964, Chambers opened a law practice that became the state's first integrated law firm. He and his partners won cases that shaped civil rights law, including Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education regarding school busing.

The Charlotte Observer reports that Chambers took eight cases before the U.S. Supreme Court and won them all.

Chambers also served as chancellor of his alma mater, North Carolina Central University, from 1993 to 2001.