Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration II

Our Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration started off with a “Day On.”

In keeping with Dr. King’s spirit of dedication to community service, a group of students got together on what was supposed to be a day off.  The group met with Lorraine Lalli and Lydia Hanhardt to devise a plan to raise money and the other resources required to refurbish the family room of the Rhode Island Women’s Resource Center. 

I am sure that most of you have heard of HBO’s “The Wire” even if you have not seen it.  We watched an episode that illustrates the uneasy tension that characterizes the interaction between the police and the members of a particular inner city community.  In my personal opinion, this show is unmatched in its tendency to spark an interesting discussion.  And this particular episode was no exception.  Students, faculty and administrative staff engaged in an energetic, enlightening and most importantly cross-perspective discussion of these issues.

Last, but most certainly not least was this year’s keynote speaker, Professor Craig Futterman of the University of Chicago School of Law Civil Rights and Police Accountability Project.  This is a gentleman whose dedication to the cause is surpassed only by the refreshing candor with which he discussed it.  Professor Futterman gave an address that took an honest look at a very harsh reality, but left the audience uplifted and inspired. 

Members of the audience included not only students, faculty and administrative personnel, but also the President of the NAACP, the President of the Rhode Island Minority Police Association, and the President of the National Association of Black Law Enforcement Officers.  Needless to say the guest list made for a rather interesting discussion. 

After the event, some of our guests were invited to dinner at the De Wolf Tavern.  And of course the discussion continued there as well.

I know what you are thinking.  It seems like there is a lot of discussion in law school.  And if that is what you were thinking, you are absolutely right.  Even the teaching style that most professors embrace is based on the notion of learning through discussion.  It is only when our views are challenged through discussion that we subject them to any meaningful evaluation.  Discussions raise awareness, expose us to new perspectives and sometimes they even move us to action. 

I will end this entry by sharing a little secret with you.  It’s the secret to success in law school and it’s actually quite simple.  The secret to success in law school is a willingness to study for hours at a time, a hunger for knowledge, an unquenchable curiosity, and the type of mom who would travel over two hours (and get almost hopelessly lost) to support an event you helped organize.  Thanks mom.