Post Date: September 15, 2005
This weekend, Harvard Law School will hold its second Celebration of Black Alumni. Highlights of the three-day event include a keynote address by Sen. Barack Obama, a 1991 Harvard Law graduate, and speeches by Harvard President Lawrence Summers and Law School Dean Elena Kagan. Hundreds of alumni are expected to return to campus for the event.
“I am honored to host this extraordinary event,” said Dean Elena Kagan, the Charles Hamilton Houston Professor of Law and a 1986 Harvard Law graduate. “The impact that our African-American alumni have had on the world is extraordinary by any measure. I hope that today’s students—of all races and backgrounds—will be inspired by the people and events associated with this celebration.”
The Celebration comes on the heels of the launch of the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice, a new research institute led by Professor Charles Ogletree, and will spotlight the accomplishments of the school’s black graduates.
“Our Celebration of Black Alumni will bring together some of the most talented and accomplished members of the Harvard Law community,” said Sharon E. Jones, a co-chair of the event and a 1982 HLS graduate.
“I am proud to be connected with this event that celebrates the pioneering role Harvard Law School, an institution founded in part on the proceeds of a benefactor’s sale of slaveholdings, has played in the education of black attorneys,” added Neil Brown, the other co-chair and a 1978 HLS graduate.
Highlights of the event on Friday include a presentation by Harvard University President Lawrence Summers as well as a series of panels that will focus on issues like public service and the legacy of the Brown decision. For a complete schedule, please visit the Celebration of Black Alumni webpage.