VI.
Honors, Affiliations & Recognitions
A Lifetime Measured in Service
Across the law, the academy, the political arena, and the great fraternal and Masonic orders of African-American life, Larry S. Gibson has been recognized again and again by those who know best what his work has meant.
Honors & Recognitions
Distinctions across a career
Gold Medal of Achievement — 2025
The highest honor of the Prince Hall Scottish Rite, conferred by the United Supreme Council, Southern Jurisdiction. Bestowed in 2025 in recognition of a lifetime of distinguished service to the Craft and to humanity.
Maryland Super Lawyers
Recognized year after year among Maryland's leading civil litigators — a peer-reviewed distinction reserved for the top tier of the bar.
The Daily Record — Influential Marylanders
Named among Maryland's most influential figures in law and public life by the state's legal record of record.
Longest-Serving Professor — Maryland Carey Law
More than fifty years on the faculty of the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law (1974–present).
Endowed Chair — North Carolina Central University (2015)
Appointed to a distinguished visiting chair to teach and mentor the next generation of HBCU-trained lawyers.
Author — Young Thurgood (1998)
Acclaimed biography Young Thurgood: The Making of a Supreme Court Justice, recognized as a definitive account of Justice Marshall's formative years.
Civic Proclamations
Honored by resolutions of the Maryland General Assembly, the Baltimore City Council, and proclamations from successive Maryland Governors.
Masonic Affiliations
A Prince Hall legacy
Few honors carry the historical weight that Prince Hall Freemasonry carries within African-American civic life. Founded in 1784 by the freedman Prince Hall, the Craft has stood as a parallel institution of leadership, charity, and scholarship for more than two centuries. Brother Gibson’s coronation as a 33° Sovereign Grand Inspector General places him among the highest-honored members of that lineage.
2025 — Highest Honor of the Prince Hall Scottish Rite
Gold Medal of Achievement
Conferred in 2025 by the United Supreme Council, Southern Jurisdiction — the highest honor bestowed by the Prince Hall Scottish Rite. The Gold Medal recognizes a lifetime of distinguished service to the Craft and to humanity, and is reserved for a small number of Sovereign Grand Inspectors General whose contributions stand apart.
- Prince Hall Masons — Grand Lodge of Maryland
- Member in good standing of the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Maryland, the oldest continuous African-American fraternal organization in the state.
- Ancient & Accepted Scottish Rite (Prince Hall Affiliation)
- Active in the Scottish Rite bodies of the Prince Hall Affiliation, advancing through the Lodge of Perfection, Chapter of Rose Croix, Council of Kadosh, and Consistory.
- United Supreme Council, 33° — Sovereign Grand Inspector General
- Coronated a 33° Mason and Sovereign Grand Inspector General by the United Supreme Council — the highest honorary degree the Scottish Rite confers.
- Royal Arch & Appendant Bodies
- Affiliated with the appendant York Rite and Shrine bodies of Prince Hall Freemasonry, supporting their charitable and educational missions.
Fraternal Brotherhoods
Bonds of brotherhood
- Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc.
- Initiated, Xi Chapter — April 14, 1962. Member, Baltimore (MD) Alumni Chapter, Eastern Province.
- Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity (the Boulé)
- Member of America's oldest Black Greek-letter fraternity for distinguished professionals.
Bar & Professional Associations
Service to the profession
- American Bar Association
- Member; long-time contributor to legal education committees.
- National Bar Association
- Member of the nation's oldest and largest association of Black lawyers and judges.
- Maryland State Bar Association
- Active member; admitted to practice in Maryland and the District of Columbia.
- Monumental City Bar Association
- Baltimore's historic Black bar association — leadership and mentorship roles.
- American Academy of Judicial Education
- Faculty — training sitting judges across the United States.
Civic & Public Service
Counselor to leaders
- Drafting consultant, Multistate Bar Examination — National Conference of Bar Examiners
- Senior counsel and advisor, BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport leadership
- Trusted advisor to Maryland Governors, Mayors, and Members of Congress across six administrations
- Mentor to generations of HBCU students, judges, and elected officials nationwide
A Capstone Honor — 2025
The Laurel Wreath Award
The Laurel Wreath is the highest honor bestowed by Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., awarded by the Grand Chapter to members whose achievements in their field have brought lasting honor to the Fraternity. The petition for Brother Gibson was submitted on April 7, 2025 by the Baltimore (MD) Alumni Chapter and adopted by resolution of the Eastern Province on March 28, 2025 — joining a small number of distinctions that recognize the totality of his life’s work.
Character References
In their words
“Larry Gibson has shaped Maryland — its laws, its leaders, its conscience. There is no honor too great for what he has given this state.”
“He is, simply, one of the finest legal minds and most generous teachers our profession has produced.”
“Mr. Gibson is a quintessential lawyer's lawyer — disciplined, principled, and unwilling to leave any colleague behind.”
“Few people have done more to lift up the next generation of leaders in this region than Larry Gibson.”
“His counsel, friendship, and steady hand have meant the world to all of us at BWI.”