AUWCL Celebrates Martin Luther King Jr. with 20th Annual Commemoration Program
Jan. 23, 2019
On Tuesday, Jan. 22, American University Washington College of Law held its annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday Commemoration program. This event marked the 20th year that faculty, staff, and students gathered at the law school to celebrate the life and enduring legacy of Dr. King.
In her welcome remarks, Dean Camille Nelson commented, “Dr. King called for a revolution of love, and also one that would require not just the talk of equity but the political, economic, and social delivery of justice. The study of Dr. King’s full messages ensures that we are not doomed to forget the lessons of history, thereby repeating our errors and missteps. He was, interestingly, to my mind, an optimist – and one that believed in the greatness of this country.”
This year’s keynote speech was given by alumna Janene D. Jackson ’98, a partner in Holland & Knight's Public Policy and Regulation Group. Jackson’s practice focuses on guiding clients in navigating the legislative and regulatory aspects of the D.C. government, including assisting them with government relations and lobbying needs, business development interests, and legal representations in administrative proceedings.
Jackson said that while working onher speech, she realized “there is simply too much to say about Dr. King’s work on racial and economic inequality.” Noting that there is still a lack of diversity in the legal profession and Congress, she commented, “differing perspectives are always needed when policy is developed…Dr. King’s dream is an action – our daily commitment for equality and justice for all.”
Lisa Curtis, associate director of the Marshall-Brennan Constitutional Literacy Project, led a community reading of excerpts from Dr. King’s Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech from December 1964 in Oslo, Norway.
Sherry Weaver, interim director of the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, organized the event.
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