Katie Hall Educational Foundation Chairman and CEO Junifer Hall, JD, MPA, MBA and the Foundation’s Chief Legal Counsel and Vice-Chaplain Attorney John Henry Hall, Ed.D., LL.M., along with Katie Hall Educational Foundation Board Members Attorney Macarthur M. Drake and Attorney Linda Copeland Drake were among more than 275 hundred lawyers, who participated in a Protest March and Town Hall Meeting led by the 73rd President of the National Bar Association Benjamin L. Crump and Rainbow Push Chairman Rev. Jessie L. Jackson, Sr. in remembrance of Michael Brown last week. The National Bar Association, the nation’s largest group of African-American lawyers and judges lent support to the “Mothers of the Movement” in Ferguson, Missouri. Michael Brown was shot and killed by law enforcement after being accused of stealing items from a convenience store in the small city located just west of St. Louis.
Ms. Sybrina Fulton, the mother of Trayvon Martin; Ms. Lezley McSpadden, the mother of Michael Brown; and other mothers, who lost sons to gun violence at the hands of law enforcement throughout America were the featured participants in the Protest March and Town Hall Meeting. All of these mothers’ sons were unarmed when shot and killed by law enforcement in various towns and cities across the United States.
The Protest March began with the lawyers being led in prayer by Rev. Jackson and immediately thereafter taken to the site where Michael Brown was shot, killed, and lay in the street for more than three (3) hours after his death.
Ed Gordon, the host of “Weekly With Ed Gordon,” was the moderator of the Town Hall Forum, which focused primarily on possible solutions in ending the slaughter of unarmed African-American males primarily at the hands of law enforcement. The “Mothers of the Movement” expressed deep concern as to how their sons’ memories have been portrayed by mainstream media before and since their untimely demise.
The National Bar Association and its leadership have provided legal representation, guidance, and moral support to the families of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, and others since the tragedies occurred. Attorney Benjamin L. Crump, 73rd President of the National Bar Association has encouraged the membership of this historic group of lawyers and judges to continue the fight for social, racial, and economic justice in “communities of color” across America.
Katie Hall Educational Foundation Chief Legal Counsel and Vice-Chaplain Attorney John Henry Hall, Ed.D.,LL.M. was among a few Town Hall meeting attendees permitted to make comments and ask a question of the “Mothers of the Movement” panel. He congratulated Attorney Crump, the National Bar Association, and the brave and bold “Mothers of the Movement” in their past and present continued pursuit to address the unwarranted violence exhibited toward African-American males by law enforcement and others. Attorney Hall also asked the panelists, “In what ways can Foundations such as the Katie Hall Educational Foundation be of service to you in working with organizations such as the Trayvon Martin Foundation in shedding light on this modern-day issue as a means to bring about social change in America?”
