It was both a homecoming and a moment of national recognition for Nashville Judge Rachel L. Bell as the National Bar Association gathered in Music City for its 101st annual convention.
Bell, a longtime Nashville judge, founder of the Music City Community Court and national legal leader, emerged from the convention with three significant honors recognizing her judicial service, leadership and commitment to expanding access to justice.
Bell received the Joe Hairston Award, one of the National Bar Association’s major honors, and was recognized for Excellence in the Judiciary by the NBA Women Lawyers Division during the Gertrude E. Rush Annual Breakfast.
Adding to the recognition, the National Bar Association LGBTQ+ Division, which Bell chairs, was named the organization’s 2025–26 Division of the Year.
For Bell, receiving the honors in Nashville (the community where she grew up, developed her legal career and has spent years creating programs intended to bring the justice system closer to residents) made the occasion particularly meaningful.
“To receive these honors from the National Bar Association in the city that raised me, shaped me and entrusted me to serve is something I will never forget,” Bell said. “But these awards are not mine alone. They belong to the people who have worked beside me, believed in the vision and understood that justice does not stop at the courthouse steps.”
The National Bar Association’s convention brought Black judges, attorneys, law students and other legal professionals from across the country to Nashville.
Against that backdrop, Bell’s recognition placed a spotlight on a judicial career that has increasingly emphasized taking the work of the courts into the community.
The Joe Hairston Award recognizes service and leadership within the National Bar Association and legal profession.
Bell’s Excellence in the Judiciary recognition from the NBA Women Lawyers Division was presented during the Gertrude E. Rush Annual Breakfast, named for one of the pioneering figures in the history of Black attorneys in America.
Ashley L. Upkins, immediate past president of the National Bar Association, said Bell represents a model of judicial leadership rooted in community service.
“Judge Rachel Bell represents the very best of what it means to be a servant leader in our profession,” Upkins said. “Her impact reaches far beyond the courtroom. She has demonstrated that judicial leadership can be innovative, compassionate, courageous and deeply connected to the community.”
Upkins said recognizing Bell in Nashville was especially appropriate because it is the community where she has spent her career serving.
Bell serves as judge of Davidson County General Sessions Court, Division VIII, and is founder and presiding judge of the Music City Community Court, which she established in 2012.
Through the Community Court, Bell has advocated an approach to justice that looks beyond what happens after someone enters a courtroom and considers some of the circumstances that bring people into contact with the legal system.
Programs under Bell’s leadership have addressed housing stability, re-entry, expungement, restoration of rights, young adults, preventative justice and connections to community-based resources.
That approach has become a defining feature of her judicial service.
“Justice has to be something people can see, feel and access in their own communities,” Bell said. “Our responsibility cannot simply be processing cases. We must ask how we can use the justice system to help remove barriers, restore people and strengthen communities.”
One of Bell’s three honors was shared with the team she leads.
The National Bar Association LGBTQ+ Division was selected as the organization’s 2025–26 Division of the Year.
During the year, the division worked to increase the visibility of Black LGBTQ+ attorneys, judges and law students while promoting advocacy, mentorship, professional development and education.
Its programming also addressed the intersection of race, sexual orientation, gender identity, civil rights and the law.
The division collaborated with other sections of the National Bar Association, reflecting an effort to incorporate issues affecting LGBTQ+ communities into the organization’s broader work surrounding civil rights and equal justice.
“What Judge Bell and the LGBTQ+ Division accomplished is a powerful example of leadership through collaboration,” Upkins said. “Rachel understands that progress happens when we build bridges, bring people to the table and have the courage to address difficult issues.”
For Bell, the recognition also represents the importance of ensuring that younger people can see themselves represented throughout the legal profession.
“There are young people coming behind us who need to see that there is room for them in this profession,” Bell said. “They need to know they can be exactly who they are and still become lawyers, judges, leaders and change-makers. Part of leadership is making sure the door is wider for the person coming behind you.”
The convention also carried historical significance.
The National Bar Association was founded in 1925 at a time when Black attorneys were excluded from full participation in much of the organized legal profession. More than a century later, the association continues working to advance justice and strengthen opportunities for Black lawyers, judges and legal professionals.
Bringing its 101st annual convention to Nashville connected that history with a city that played a significant role in the American Civil Rights Movement.
For Bell, receiving national recognition before colleagues from across the country in her hometown brought those histories together.
But she said the awards should not be viewed as a conclusion to the work.
“I am deeply humbled by these honors, but recognition also brings responsibility,” Bell said. “There is still much work to do. We must continue mentoring the next generation, protecting access to justice, standing with communities whose voices are too often unheard and ensuring that our profession reflects the people we are called to serve.”
Bell said the recognition has strengthened her commitment to continue that work.
“I am grateful for where we have been, proud of what we have accomplished and energized about where we are going,” she said. “We have work to do—and I am up to the task.”
For Nashville, the National Bar Association’s convention brought Black legal professionals from across the nation to Music City. For Bell, it brought national recognition to years of judicial and community service rooted in her hometown.
