Hemphill P. Pride II, son of the late Dr. Hemphill P. and Maud Pendergrass Pride, was born in Columbia, SC. His father was a dentist and employee of South Carolina Department of Mental Health. His mother was a public school teacher in Columbia, a successful businesswoman, and a licensed South Carolina real estate/insurance broker.
Hemphill’s undergraduate studies include Johnson C. Smith University and Blaton School of Accounting. He first attended South Carolina State College School of Law and later transferred to Florida A & M College of Law where, in 1962, he received his Bachelor of Law and Juris Doctorate degrees. He was admitted to practice before the South Carolina Bar and United States Supreme Court in 1963 and 1968, respectively.
Hemphill Pride's practice of law—civil litigation, labor law, administrative law, appellate practice, and criminal defense law, both State and Federal—has spanned over fifty years. He was a partner with the Law Office of Jenkins, Perry and Pride—the late Honorable Lincoln C. Jenkins, Jr. who became a Columbia Municipal Judge; and the late Honorable Matthew J. Perry, Jr. who became a Senior Judge of the United States District Court, Columbia Division. Hemphill was the first black Attorney for Richland County (South Carolina) School District One and Assistant Prosecutor for City of Columbia. He was elected in 1968 as vice president of the South Carolina Young Democrats. In 1972, he was appointed by Governor John West to serve as a member of the South Carolina Housing Authority and was reappointed in 1974 by Governor James Edwards to serve as a member of the Columbia Housing Authority. He served as South Carolina's 1987 coordinator for the Law Project of the Law Federal Bar. In 1991, he was appointed by South Carolina Superintendent of Education Barbara S. Nielsen to the Urban School's Sub-Committee for Education Excellence Team. Furthermore, he was appointed in 1997 by South Carolina's secretary of commerce as special envoy to Gabon in Africa. Hemphill is a life member of the NAACP, and a member of the National Bar Association, Richland County Bar Association, Columbia Black Lawyers Association, Wolverine Bar Association (honorary), and Ladson Presbyterian Church USA. Presently, he is in private practice—Law Office of Hemphill P. Pride II, LLC.
In recognition of his spirit of excellence and dedicated service to the people of South Carolina, he has been granted various honors, among them the 1976 Patriotic Service Award for active and patriotic participation in South Carolina's observance of our nation's bicentennial, the 1977 Highest Achievement Award by the University of South Carolina Chapter of Black American Law Students Association, and the 1987 South Carolina Black Family Summit Award for achievement in the field of political and legal rights. In 2000, he was recognized by Florida's Governor Jeb Bush for his service on the committee to reestablish Florida A&M School of Law which resulted in the creation of the FAMU/FIU College of Law. He has been the recipient of the 2002 Columbia Black Lawyers Association Matthew J. Perry Jr. Award and the 2008 and 2021 Columbia Urban League Whitney M. Young Jr. Award in recognition of leadership and advocacy in promoting equal opportunity and social justice for the disenfranchised through the legal system. In 2013, he was presented the Key to the City of Columbia by Mayor Stephen K. Benjamin. In 2021, a joint resolution was passed in the South Carolina House of Representatives to honor Hemphill’s life and achievements. Hemphill is the proud father of five children, Hemphill P. Pride III, Elliott Caldwell Pride, Ki-Ga Dingalt Pride, Touami Dingalt Pride, and Linous Dingalt Pride.
