A program on the will of lawyers in the boycott and the movement on the role of lawyers in the boycott and the movement in general. This program is about two hours. The adversaryce of the montgomery boycott is now a partner. And that is local government. Brief pleased to have greetings from the following representatives. Terriesswoman terry sewell and todd strange. Greetingsollowing the from these government officials will be brief greetings from Yavonna Morris, lee copeland, and dr. Glenda glover. In that order could and as they come to the podium, they can receive their name. Thank you. I do not see the congresswoman, so we will differ to chairman dean. Mr. Dean good morning. Most appropriate for a strictly fair in this sanctuary. Here in thisbe sanctuary. And on behalf of the Montgomery County commission, i think i have a teammate, dan harris, can you stand . We welcome you to our montgomery. 1955, it was there montgomery. Today, it is our montgomery. A lot of things have changed since 1955. And we owe that to people like i call him my icon freddie gray. I think we have to give him a big round of applause. [applause] fred gray was a young black man, talented, courageous, and the things he did during that time took a lot of courage because a lot of people were not behind him at that time. He was a visionary. So we owe that to him. And we should not forget that. We should not have waited until the 60th anniversary. We should commemorate it that every year because things have changed every year. Fred was probably one of three black lawyers at that time. I look around today and i see all of the talented black lawyers we have now. And it makes my heart feel so warm because we have all of that smart talent. I am not a black lawyer, that i have a black lawyer that represents me at the Montgomery County commission. [laughter] [applause] so i just want to thank you all for being here. And just remember, you are always welcome to montgomery to see the rosa parks museum, to visit montgomery, al because we are a new montgomery. We still have a long ways to go and we have the people that are elected to make sure we get there. We dont have people that are flexed in montgomery that their own muscles, we represent the people. And the people are the ones that speak to us and we speak to things that we need to make changes on. On behalf of the Montgomery County commission, we welcome you. Thank you. [applause] mr. Strange just of you know, secretary clinton i heard applause in the air. Therehere are serious she is. Coming after you. Mr. Strange would you like to go before me . Oh, no. Your city. Mr. Strange it is our city. This has been a really great here for our community. We started in march of this year with the 50th celebration, and we share that with selma. Or i should say, selma shared that with us. It ended here. And then you fastforward to august, and it was very special for me. I got reelected. [laughter] and now we come to this historic ago,december 1, 60 years 1955. Lady, ary petite young seamstress, made her stand. Actually, she made her seat. Because as my preacher said on sunday, she said, no. But in saying no, she said yes. To a different, but better story, a story that we have been living for the last 60 years. And as elton n. Dean said, we have made a giant strides. And if the world watches today, with your help, we can show that we are not the montgomery of 1955. We have made strong bridges, but we still have bridges to build. Canwith everyones help, we be that shining city on the hill. That all people called home. I had a chance last night to be in the presence of giants, gave proclamations to several when i first heard about aba and nba, i think i knew the story, but now to have mr. Brown to be the first black for aba. [applause] speaks volume. Speaks volumes of where we have come. I welcome you on behalf of of this grateful city, as we celebrate the event that literally was heard around the world. Jack hopkins last night talked about hearing about rosa parks when he was in south america. I have firsthand had a History Lesson given to me in italy, when they talked about rosa parks. I have had emails about the arab spring being motivating by the activities of the bus boycott and rosa parks. So this is the day of celebration, the day of commemoration, and im so honored to be a part of that great event. God bless each and everyone of you. [applause] congresswoman . To pastor and the congregation of king memorial church, to the National Bar Association, which is so ably led by attorney benjamin crump, and to my Sorority Sisters, whose presence here on is one of our own, rosa parks, for which i , andly wear my pink today to all of the elected officials, distinguished guests, and to our guest speaker, secretary clinton , the next president of the United States of america. [applause] you greetings as the representative of the seventh congressional district. I welcome you to montgomery, alabama and i will commit to the historic dexter avenue king memorial church, on this, the 60th anniversary of the montgomery bus boycott. Can you imagine . 60 years. If these walls could talk, could you imagine the stories they would tell . Stories of great trials and tribulations, and personal sacrifice. Stories of great triumph, steadfast bravery, and tremendous faith. And stories whose chapters have yet been read. I think it is so important that we acknowledge that all battles have indeed become old battles have indeed become new again. And now more than ever, we need brave souls. We need foot soldiers and freedom fighters. You know, if these walls could talk, the black church with so pivotably important during the Civil Rights Movement, but also the courtroom was also a very important played a very Important Role in the Civil Rights Movement. And so, i think it is befitting that today we, with the National Bar Association being here, talk about the role of lawyers in the forht for the sorry desegregation of the buses, as well as for the civil rights and Voting Rights era. Now, we dont have to look far in alabama to find examples of great legal giants. Alabama is home to many of these great lawyers. , judgetorney fred gray clemon, and, of course, right down the road with judge Frank Johnson. Women, whomen, and fought the fight. Today, we pay honor and tribute to the role of lawyers in the movement, and we also nba is on athat the pilgrimage of sorts all through this district. Now you are going to selma, so you are doing a tour of the seventh congressional district. [laughter] we welcome you in each spot. Let us never underestimate the power of these is extraordinary these extraordinary attorneys. I know the journey i now take as alabamas first black congresswoman was only made possible because of their sacrifice. And [applause] and of those of us who are inheritors of that legacy oh a debt of gratitude that we can never repay owe a debt of gratitude that we can never repay, but we can start by taking up the fight that they like. This is an ongoing, ever vigilant we must be, to make sure the project progress stays. Well before i did to believe that i could run for congress, i knew i wanted to be a lawyer. I did. And i can remember so vividly the day i decided i must be a lawyer. Inas a young eightyearold selma, alabama. And i accompanied my mother to that famous Dallas County courthouse when she went to renew her tag. And even back then, the lines were long. And i can remember wandering up to the second floor, and opening the door of the courtroom, and fiery, saw this brilliant speaking black man. Mesmerizing an audience full of white people. I remember being so spellbound by his description, by his cadence. I remember walking in and standing there in awe as he literally held everyone in the palm of his hand. People were on the edge of their seats as he was pontificating. And i said to myself, i dont know what this man does, but whatever he does, i want to be him. [laughter]. Chestnut. S j. L [applause] a very famous africanamerican lawyer from selma, alabama. And so long before i thought of being a congressperson, i knew i wanted to be a lawyer because of j. L. Chestnut. Because of so many wonderful legal minds that spring forth in alabama. I am so honored today to represent the great state of alabama, but i also know that with that comes great responsibility. The responsibility to know that the battle is not over yet. As long as black men and black boys and boys of color are brutally beaten and killed by police, there is work to do. There is so much work to do. And i want you to know that the fight for Voting Rights is not over yet. I want you to join. Be nba, now more than ever, we need you, we need your voice is as we move be on the church to congress, to the front lines to make sure people realize that this renewed assault on Voting Rights affects all of us. The very integrity of our electoral process is at risk. I am honored to have sponsored a bill called the Voting Rights advancement act, which not only would restore the Voting Rights act because, yes, alabama was ground zero for the advancement of the Voting Rights, but it was also ground zero for the entrenched. I have to tell you, as long as the state of alabama requires a photo id and then systematically closes dmv offices, there is work to do. There is work to do. So i am for the nba and all of these activists, all of the lawyers that are here today and community activists, let us remember why we are here. We are here not only to celebrate 60 years, but in order for us to get sitting 60 years further down the way, we must do our parts. The price of freedom is never free. It has been paid for by the blood and tears of so many. And all of us know that we get to stand because rosa refused to set. So i want to say to the nba, thank you for coming here for the 60th commemoration of the montgomery bus boycott. In fact, before i came, i went to the floor of congress and i professed how great it was to have them in my district commemorating, doing a pilgrimage of sorts, camaraderie commemorating the montgomery bus boycott and the role of lawyers in the Civil Rights Movement, and i would like to present that congressional record to the president , ben. History professor and proclaim and under the National Bar Association, the role of black lawyers, during the 60th anniversary of the montgomery boycott. We want you to enjoy your stay, we want you to spend tons of money in the seventh congressional district, and i want to say to all of you, there is so much work to do. And we who are beneficiaries must be at the front lines of making that progress. And because we are always one vote away, one Supreme Court justice away from losing all those gains, the 2016 president ial election is of utmost importance. And i know that i, for one, will be checking the box for the woman on the ballot, the right woman on the ballot, Hillary Rodham clinton. And i hope that all of us will encourage people to go to the polls, even if we have to drive them to the polls. No vote, no voice. No vote, no voice. Welcome. [applause] last week, i was lying in bed in the morning and my wife asked me, well, lee, what is your next event . What do you have to do . I told her about today. And i told her of all the speakers that were going to be kind of athere was quiet. She didnt say much, which is unusual. Then she reached over and put her hand on my forehead and said, you may want to be sick next tuesday as opposed to following all those speakers. But im so happy to be, really. You know, 85 years ago almost to the day, about two miles west from here, there was a little boy that was born to a mother, and it was her fifth child delivered by a midwife. His name was fred david gray. He lived appropriately the herculesdress was 135 street. I want to fastforward from that childs birth 24 years later. 24 years later is not that long in a life. But it was still a couple of miles from here that at the center, this church, in the living room that that same toy, gray boy, now a man, fred from hercules street, was meeting with rosa parks. Not to decide to talk about the bus boycott there were plenty of folks that played a role in there were less that played a role that im particularly proud of in the legal field of deciding how and what avenue to use ms. Parks arrest to achieve the most change. There were a dozen legal paths to pick, but ms. Parks had fred gray, and had a fellow who had courage and was brilliant. So im behalf of the 17,548 numbers of the Alabama State bar , i want to recognize all our members that played a role in the Civil Rights Movement, particularly, though, in the movement on the bus boycott. And i want to recognize mr. Gray because he became mr. Gray has done so much stuff and so many awards, but one thing he did, he became the first africanamerican president of the alabama Bar Association. [applause] and at the time, that was no little task. You know, i agree with the congressman maybe it is because i am a lawyer but i think we lawyers i think weve got the greatest profession in the world. I love being a lawyer. [applause] i love everything about being a lawyer. Wheno, want to be a lawyer i was 7, 6, 8. You know, the Alabama State bar, our motto is lawyers Render Service. And, frankly, that is what good lawyers do. We also, by and the way, have the american Bar Association president here but all of them, if you look i dont care what stated is or what town or city it is, but if you start to dig in to that city or that town, and you look at it, you will find that the fellow or the woman that is Teaching Sunday School is a lawyer. You will find the person on the rotary club is a lawyer. , theuy working at goodwill Woman Working at red cross, they are lawyers. They Render Service could and today they Render Service. And today, today particularly this time period, we are rendering service and we are recognizing a fellow from hercules street that rendered service 60 years ago, that changed the course of history, and on behalf of the Bar Association, i am proud to know it. Thank you. [applause] good afternoon. I want to thank mr. Copeland for jumping in front of me because it wouldve been hard to follow you. My name is Yavonna Morris and i am inhouse Corporate Counsel ind Hyundai Motor america. I would like to thank fred gray for inviting us to participate in this program. I would also like to thank the Bar Association for organizing this event, as well as its tireless work. Im a longtime board member of the John LangstonBar Association in los angeles. [applause] which is an affiliate chapter of the mba, and im very proud to be part of such a remarkable organization. As a young girl growing up in south los angeles, i dreamed of being an attorney. And it is truly an honor to be here today. I am joined today by some of my colleagues, please raise your hands. [laughter] [applause] place to reminisce about the Civil Rights Movement and pay homage to our civil rights leaders that montgomery. Than montgomery. 60 years ago today, rosa parks sat down so that more of us could stand up. The movement that lives on today is a fight to ensure that each person is treated with dignity and respect, and that each person is given equal opportunity to pursue her his or her dreams to pursue his or her dreams. It helped to solidify that discrimination is inherently im just and were no longer be tolerated. The Civil Rights Movement was a collaborative effort of numerous stakeholders and organizations with a common goal. Often times, i think we fail to recognize the efforts of some people who played pivotal roles in the movement behind the scenes. People like attorney fred gray. Lawyers were crucial to the success of the movement because they challenged discriminatory laws and practices in court. The fight for justice and equality continues with issues involving Police Brutality and attaining economics, educational, and social equality is. For many, the notion of equality may seem elusive, but i can say today that i have the utmost confidence that with organizations like the National Bar Association and our legal giants at the helm, we are closer today than we have ever been paid we recognize the importance of the Civil Rights Movement and the meaning of this historical place in this movement, as well as what it means for companies im sorry that we recognize the Civil Rights Movement as well as what it means to our company to have a true commitment to diversity. Hyundai executives know that the key to building a Successful Organization is to build ideas that are different from their own. Ai, we thankf hyund you for allowing us to be a part of the celebration. Thank you. [applause] pastor handy, honorable secretary hillary clinton, and to all of you, i am glenda glover. I serve as Vice President of alpha kappa kappa. I also serve as resident of Tennessee State university as president of Tennessee State univers