Winners: Law Day 2004

"To Win Equality by Law: Brown v. Board at 50." This was the 2004 Law Day theme, and this is what program planners around the country took to heart when coming up with their activities. This year's winners held commemorative events, panels, arts competitions, and more as they inspired their audiences to reflect on the 50 years since the decision in Brown. Whether based in a bar association, a school, a court system, or a broad-based group encompassing all these elements, the projects showed creativity in reaching out to students and the public to convey the importance of the rule of law.

Alabama State Bar
The bar produced "Cross That River: Brown v. Board of Education and the People Who Lived It," an original drama presented for three days in May. Approximately 1000 attended, including Law Day winners as guests as well as students, teachers, members of local bar associations, civic and community leaders, and the general public. Another 500 attended a special performance in July. An expected Alabama Public Television airing would reach a statewide audience. (View pictures from the Alabama State Bar's website.)

Houston Bar Association
Activities included both special programs to educate the public about Brown v. Board and programs that educated the public about the rule of law in our nation. Brown programs included attorneys visiting more than 250 classrooms, a reenactment of the final oral arguments in Brown, poster and essay contests, and help to schools incorporating Brown presentations into their curriculum, including providing copies of a Brown v. Board video.

Polk County (Iowa) Bar Association
The association sponsored a visual arts and poetry competition for sixth- to twelfth-grade students to enable them to express their understanding of Brown v. Board's impact on individuals and our society. Students createdpoetry, drawings, and photography that became a traveling year-round display in public and private buildings in the Des Moines area. Their works are also shown on a local cable channel and are accessible via the the association's website.

Richmond (Virginia) Juvenile & Domestic Relations District Court
The court hosted "Oliver Hill Day" on May 7, 2004, at the Oliver Hill Courts Building. The event commemorated the 50th anniversary of the 1954 Supreme Court ruling in Brown v. Board of Education and recognized Mr. Hill's role as one of the attorneys for the plaintiffs in this landmark case. Lawyers also visited classrooms throughout the city to discuss this landmark in our nation's history.

Washington County (Pennsylvania) Bar Association
The bar association and bar foundation partnered with a local newspaper, local college, and the local NAACP to sponsor a month-long Law Day celebration. The centerpiece was a public presentation by Cheryl Brown Henderson and Linda Brown Thompson, daughters of the named plaintiff in Brown v. Board. Other activities included a five-week "People's Law School" seminar series and a "Liberty Banquet" honoring a local civil rights leader.

---

Outstanding Activity Awards Home | Entry Guidelines | Entry Form | Winners | Law Day