Angus Thompson

Angus B. Thompson Jr., Esq. is a treasured civil rights leader from Robeson County. Thompson became the county’s first public defender in 1989 and has been advocating for the education rights of North Carolina’s most vulnerable and underserved students for over four decades. Now retired, he dedicates himself entirely to leading the state-wide movement for equitable school funding and for the full implementation of the “Leandro Comprehensive Basic Plan” to provide a sound basic education for every child in North Carolina.

Thompson is an original plaintiff in the 1994 Leandro v. State of North Carolina lawsuit whose leadership (at the time via his role on the Robeson County School Board and as lead counsel for the NC NAACP) has contributed to cementing Leandro as one of the most important and consequential civil rights cases in our state’s history. He now works to inspire, train, and mentor the next generation of Leandro advocates.