Brown@50 Fulfilling the Promise |
Howard University School of Law |
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To mark the 50th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education, from fall 2003 through fall 2004 the Howard University School of Law will conduct numerous activities concerning Brown v. Board of Education. Some of the confirmed activities are noted below.
The role of Howard University and the School of Law in Brown v. Board of Education (pdf file)
Keynote Speaker: Barbara R. Arnwine, Executive Director of Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
Nationally recognized speakers, legal scholars, educators, and other special guests will join the entire law school community at an opening convocation, symbolizing the official kickoff of Brown@50 activities at the Howard University School of Law.
Speaker: Leroy R. Hassell, Sr., Chief Justice, Virginia Supreme Court, Richmond, Virginia
Chief Justice Hassell is the first African American to be the Chief Judge of the highest court in Virginia, the location of one of the Brown cases. The Clarence Clyde Ferguson Lecture has been the law school's premier lecture for more than a decade.
From the DC Humanities webpage: "A prelude to the 50th Anniversary celebration of Brown v. the Board of Education, this day-long symposium looks at the life, strategies, and legacy of Charles Hamilton Houston, known as the man who killed Jim Crow."
The Howard Law Journal will publish the first issue of its special volume on Brown@50, with essays and articles on Brown's impact over the decades. Featured authors include Laurence Nolan, Professor of Law, Howard University School of Law; Michele Goodwin, Professor of Law, DePaul University Law School; Julian Bond, Chair of the Board of the NAACP; and Wendy Scott, Professor of Law, Tulane University. The issue will be rounded out with a winning essay selected from the Howard Law Journal Essay Contest held in April 2003
Speaker: Professor Jean Stefancic, Derrick A. Bell Scholar and Professor of Law, University of Pittsburgh, School of Law,
Part 1, "The Racial Double Helix: Watson, Crick and Brown v. Board of Education." (Part 2 will be presented on Nov. 6 by Prof. Richard Delgado (see below))
Speaker: Professor Richard Delgado, Derrick A. Bell Fellow and Professor of Law, University of Pittsburgh, School of Law
Part 2, "The Racial Double Helix: Watson, Crick and Brown v. Board of Education." (Part 1 will be presented by Prof. Stefancic on Nov. 5 (see above))
Professor Delgado is one of the nation's most prolific scholars on critical race theory and the author of more than 15 books and numerous law review articles. In 1995 he won the Association of American Law Schools' Clyde Ferguson Award for outstanding law professor of color. His book, The Rodrigo Chronicles, was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in 1995. In 1996, his book The Coming Race War, was the American Library Association's choice for Outstanding Academic Book. A reception will be held immediately following the lecture.
The December issue of the HUSL magazine, The Jurist, will focus on Brown@50 with special essays, articles, and photo spreads.
January begins the series of panel discussions and town hall meetings that reflect on the meaning of Brown, and its relevance to today's civil rights agenda. There will be a National Student Town Hall meeting at the end of this month to consider the intergenerational implications of Brown.
Five of the original lawyers who litigated or participated in the Brown case will offer their personal reflections on that historic period in American history.
Moderator: Dr. Genna Rae McNeil, Professor of History, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The Lawyers
Hon. Robert L. Carter
Prof. Julian Dugas
Charles T. Duncan
Oliver W. Hill, Sr.
Hon. Louis PollakWednesday, January 21, 2004, 5:30 p.m.
HUSL Moot Court Room, Houston HallWashington Post article:
Figures in Historic Lawsuit Recount Rights, Wrongs:
Forum Reunites Those Who Beat 'Separate but Equal'By Judith Havemann
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, January 29, 2004; Page DZ03
Special Session for High School Students
Local area high school students will converge on the campus of Howard Law to learn more about law school and the advantages of pursuing a legal career. Students will receive an overview of Brown v. Board of Education and hear a mock appellate argument. Registration required.
Race and Rights: Brown v. Board of Education and the Problems of Segregation, Desegregation and Resegregation in the United States of America
Town Hall Meeting Moderator: Professor Charles J. Ogletree, Jessie Clemenko Professor of Law, Harvard Law School
This conference is presented in conjunction with the Smithsonian Exhibition, "Separate Is Not Equal: Brown v. Board of Education." The conference will be held at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History, Behring Center, in Washington, DC. Conference sessions will include panels on segregation and White privilege, black migration and the shifting political and cultural landscape. The conference will conclude with a Town Hall Meeting on "An Intergenerational Conversation About Brown v. Board of Education" which will explore the multi-generational impact of the Brown decision after 1954 and contining into the future.
February 26-28 The Legacy of Brown v. Board of Education: Reflections of the Last 50 Years (part I) (event photos)
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March 5 Howard University Charter Celebration honoring the Brown v. Board legal team.
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Members from the National Bar Association were significantly involved in the Brown litigation. This program will examine the Brown strategy and consider present litigation tactics and approaches used in civil rights litigation, particularly as it relates to discrimination in education. Continuing Legal Education credits available.
9:30 am to 1:30 pm, Howard U. School of Law Moot Court Room, Houston Hall
May 16 at 8:00 p.m. with encore broadcast on May 20 at 6:00 pm -- Part I: Howard Law & The Struggle For Justice
The first of the three part series looks back to the days before brown and to the role that Howard University and it's Law School played in the struggle for justice.
May 23 at 8:00 pm with encore broadcast on May 27 at 6:00 pm -- Part II: No Fight, No Victory
Focuses on the years just before the Brown decision of May 17, 1954 and on the stories of those who determined to battle against the forces of racial prejudice and persecution, with particular attention to the case of Briggs v. Elliot and the town of Summerton, South Carolina.May 30 at 8:00 pm with encore broadcast on June 3 at 6:00 pm -- Part III: After Brown
In the last segment of the three part series, we look at the world after Brown and how the decision began to force Americans to grapple with race -- with the legacies of oppression and prejudice that remain with us even today.Segments feature interviews with:
Prof. Julian Dugas, Howard Law School & Brown legal team;
Prof. J. Clay Smith, Howard Law School;
Judge Robert Carter, Brown legal team;
Ernest Green;
Little Rock Nine;
H. Patrick Swygert, President Howard University;
Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) Chair, Congressional Black Caucus and Howard alumn;
Harolyn Boulware, daughter of Harold Boulware, Civil Rights Attorney;
Denia Stukes Hightower, daughter of Briggs plaintiff & petitioner;
Prof. Russell Adams, Howard University;
Adam Clayton Powell, III, son of Rep. Adam Clayton Powell, III;
Prof. Okianer Christian-Dark, Howard Law School;
Kurt Schmoke, Dean of Howard Law School, Howard alum and former Mayor of Baltimore, MD;
Prof. Warner Lawson, Howard Law School;
Jack Houston, cousin of Charles Hamilton Houston, Brown legal team.
Exhibit: The "Marching Toward Justice" exhibit will remain at Howard University School of Law and is open to the public.
June 2 Howard University Television, WHUT-PBS Channel 32 in Washington, DC, will commemorate the 50th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education with the broadcast of the third of three documentaries: "Howard Law and the Brown Decision" The @Howard special three-part series focus on the Howard University Law School Faculty and Alumni who were architects of the various Brown v. Board of Education cases.
October 5, 2004 4:00 pm Clarence Clyde Ferguson Lecture
HUSL is pleased to have Prof. Lani Guinier, Harvard Law School, as the honored speaker for the 2004 C.Clyde Ferguson Lecture. The title of her speech is “The Miner’s Canary.” A reception will follow the lecture.
Brown Sourcebook: Howard University School of Law is authoring a resource book that will include information on the five major school segregation cases, including short biographies of key individuals who contributed to the legal strategies, and personal reflections of those individuals who were personally impacted by the decisions. The book will also offer a chronology of Howard University's key role in the legal strategies behind the entire movement.
Writing Competition: The Howard Law Journal sponsored a writing competition for D.C. high school students. These students wrote 1000 word essays on the impact of the Brown decision.