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Shepperson Wilbun graduated from Howard University School of Law in 1948, a year ahead of L. Clifford Davis. Wilburn set up practice in Helena, Arkansas, shortly thereafter and, with Davis, filed a school desegregation suit against the Helena School District.
Thereafter, Wilbun relocated across the Mississippi River to Memphis, Tennessee, where he lived for the rest of his life. Married to Ruby, with sons Gary and Shepperson, he built a significant life in the law. Wilbun was one of the original founders of the National Bar Association's Ben F. Jones Chapter in Memphis, and became the first African American Assistant City Attorney for the City of Memphis in 1964. He became City Attorney in 1973. Wilbun became a Circuit Court Judge in 1978, and served for twelve years in that capacity before retiring after losing a reelection bid. Wilbun died in 1991. Following his death, members of the Ben F. Jones Chapter, arranged to have his portrait hung in his former courtroom in the Circuit Court of Shelby County, Memphis, Tennessee.
Sources: AR Supreme Court Admission Records; Faye Williams, Regional Attorney, Memphis District Office, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission;