Lawrence Bentley

Lawrence Bentley

Lawrence M. Bentley is a native of Detroit, having attended Cass Technical High School in Detroit. Lawrence graduated from Eastern Michigan University’s College of Business in 1977 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in accounting. Following graduation, Lawrence obtained his CPA after 3 years in Public Accounting. In addition, Lawrence has worked 16 years as an Internal Auditor, 3 years in Financial & Operational Reporting, and 18 years as a SAP IT Consultant.  He currently lives in Plano, Texas, and works for Deloitte Consulting LLP. During his career Lawrence focused on corporate operations and client services which often took him abroad to work in 21 countries.

A kid in Detroit closely followed news from Birmingham

One day of 1963 that stands out for me is the day I saw the dogs and water hoses turned loose on Negroes, as, if we were lucky, we were called then. I asked my mother why would they do that, but she said not to worry since we lived in Detroit. I started reading everything I could in regard to this matter, even though it was not taught or mentioned in school. Even though I was only 8 years old, living in Detroit and my parents wisely would never allow me to be involved anyway, I am very sorry I did not do more to protect the people in Birmingham in 1963.