History Museum of Mobile: Heritage Lecture Series with Karlos Finley

Mr. Finley will discuss how the history of Clotilda has become the cornerstone of cultural heritage tourism and an example of what our African ancestors were capable of, and what we are capable of also.

Karlos Finley is the Executive Director of the Africatown Redevelopment Corporation (ARC). He participated in the active practice of law for over 20 years prior to accepting the position. His family’s roots in the city of Mobile date back to the 1870’s. Mr. Finley attended Most Pure Heart of Mary Catholic School (est. 1901) as a child until his family moved to Michigan in the mid 1970’s. He returned home to Mobile and Graduated from John L. LeFlore High School. Upon graduation, he enlisted in the United States Coast Guard. He was decorated with the Meritorious Unit Commendation Medal for relief efforts during several Coast Hurricanes and the Good Conduct Medal, then Honorably discharged. After beginning his collegiate career at Bishop State Community College, Mr. Finley earned his Bachelor of Science Degree from the University of Mobile, Cum Laude and his Juris Doctorate from Miles School of Law in Fairfield, AL, where he was chosen as class valedictorian. He served as an Assistant District Attorney in the Mobile County District Attorney’s Office for several years, then went into the private practice of law with the firm of K. Fitzgerald Finley, P.C.

In 2015, Mr. Finley was invested by the Mobile City Council as a Municipal Court Judge and served honorably until 2022. He is a past Vice-President of the Alabama Lawyers Association, past President of the Vernon Crawford, Bay Area Bar Association and the Paul W. Brock, American Inn of Court. He is a member of the Mobile and Alabama State Bar Associations, and serves on the State Bar’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee. He serves as President of the Mobile Bar Foundation and is an Alabama State Bar Foundation Fellow. He served as President of the 2008 Class of Leadership Mobile and is a member of the 2012 Class of Leadership Alabama. He is the President of the Board of Directors for the Friends of African American Heritage Trail, Inc. (FAAHT) and Heart of Mary School Board of Directors. He is a current Board member of the National Maritime Museum of the Gulf of Mexico. He served three consecutive years as Chair of the Boys and Girls Clubs of South Alabama’s Youth of the Year Award Luncheon. He has also served on the Board of Directors for the Dearborn YMCA (Heritage Y), Dauphin Island Sea Lab, Bishop State Community College Foundation, 15 Place Homeless Services Center, Housing First, Mobile United (Diversity and Inclusion Committee) and served as Tribal Judge of the MOWA Band of the Choctaw Indians. Finley is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. He is married to Mrs. Kelly A. Finley, and they have three wonderful children.