CBA Record Feb-March 2015

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MURPHY’S LAW
BY TERRENCE M. MURPHY, CBA EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
T he 2015 Vanguard Awards Lun-
cheon will be held on Thursday,
April 2, 2015, beginning with a
reception at 11:30 a.m., followed by the
luncheon at noon. The Vanguard Awards
are co-hosted by the Asian American Bar
Association; the Chicago Bar Association;
Cook County Bar Association; Hispanic
Lawyers Association of Illinois; Lesbian
and Gay Bar Association of Chicago; and
the Puerto Rican Bar Association. The
luncheon celebrates diversity and honors
lawyers, judges and community leaders
whose leadership is making a difference
in our city. This year’s honorees include:
Anne Shaw from the Asian American Bar
Association; U.S. District Court Judge
Sharon Johnson Coleman , The Chicago
Bar Association; Illinois Appellate Court
Justice John O. Steele (Ret.), Cook
Lawyers’ Association of Greater Chicago
and other area bar associations are co-
hosting the 50th Anniversary Celebration
of the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts
at a Gala Dinner on Thursday, April 30,
2015, in the Grand Ballroom at the Stan-
dard Club. Dr. Otis Moss, Jr ., theologian,
pastor, and civic leader, will be the keynote
speaker at the dinner. Dr. Moss is well
known for his leadership of America’s Civil
Rights Movement and participated in the
Selma, Alabama Civil Rights March with
Dr. Martin Luther King. Moss was a close
friend of Dr. King, served as regional direc-
tor of the Southern Christian Leadership
Conference, and is one of America’s most
influential black ministers.
In addition, we will also honor Mrs.
Juanita Abernathy, wife of the late Dr.
Ralph Abernathy at the dinner. Dr. Aber-
nathy led the Southern Christian Leader-
ship Conference after the assassination of
Dr. King. The Civil Rights Act was signed
into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson
in 1964 and outlawed discrimination based
on race, color, religion, sex, or national
origin. The Act also ended unequal applica-
tion of voter registration and racial segre-
gation in our nation’s schools. The Voting
Rights Act, considered by many to be the
most effective piece of civil rights legisla-
tion ever enacted in the United States,
was signed into law by President Johnson
in 1965. President Johnson’s daughter
Lynda Johnson Robb and her daughter
Catherine Lewis Robb will be attending
the Gala Dinner and will be recognized
for their father’s leadership in the passage
of both of these historic Acts.
United States District Court Judge
Sharon Johnson Coleman and Brenda
A. Russell, Director of Pricewaterhouse
Coopers LLP, co-chair this special Chicago
celebration. Table sponsors for the Gala
Dinner are $2,500 for a table of ten and
will receive special seating and recognition
in the program. Individual tickets are $125
per person. For more information or to
make reservations for the Gala Dinner,
contact Tamra Drees at 312/554-2057 or
.
County Bar Association; Virginia Marti-
nez, Illinois Latino Family Commission,
Hispanic Lawyers Association of Illinois;
Jim Bennett, Midwest Regional Direc-
tor, Lambda Legal, Lesbian & Gay Bar
Association of Chicago; Illinois Supreme
Court Justice Mary Jane Theis, Puerto
Rican Bar Association. Join your colleagues
from the bench and the bar in honoring
these outstanding leaders. Tickets for the
luncheon are $65 per person or $650 for
a table of ten. For more information or to
make reservations, contact CBA Events
Coordinator Tamra Drees at 312/554-
2057 or .
50th Anniversary Gala Celebrating the Civil
Rights and Voting Rights Acts
The Chicago Bar Association, Cook
County Bar Association, Black Women
The Hon. Shelvin Louise Marie Hall of the Illinois Appellate Court (center) was
honored with the 2015 Dickerson Award on Tuesday, February 24. The award
recognizes minority lawyers and judges whose careers at the bar emulate the
courage and dedication of the late Earl B. Dickerson in making the law the key
to justice for all in our society. Pictured with Hall are (left) CBA President Daniel
A. Cotter of Fidelity Life Insurance Association and (right) Judge E. Kenneth
Wright, Jr. Photo by Bill Richert.
20 FEBRUARY/MARCH 2015