Executive Director' Report, 1116 ALBJ, 77 The Alabama Lawyer 408 (2016)

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT

Vol. 77 No. 6 Pg. 408

Alabama Bar Lawyer

November, 2016

Alabama’s Civil Rights Trifecta

This past August, Bryan stevenson became the latest member of the Alabama State Bar to receive the Thurgood Marshall Award. The award has been given annually since its inception in 1992 by the American Bar Association (ABA) Section of Civil Rights and Social Justice. The award honors United States Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall who is the award’s first recipient. The other state bar members who have received this award are Judge frank m. Johnson, Jr., the award’s second recipient, and fred d. gray.

While paying tribute to Justice Marshall’s long civil rights record, the award epitomizes individual commitment to the cause of civil rights by members of the legal profession. In particular, the award recognizes long-term contributions to the advancement of civil rights, civil liberties and human rights in the United States. Other notable recipients to receive the award include Hon. Janet R. Reno, Jack Greenberg, Elaine Jones and Hon. Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Bryan received this year’s award during the ABA’s annual meeting in San Francisco.

As many of you may know, Bryan is the founder and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) in Montgomery. He has dedicated his legal career to helping the poor, the incarcerated and, in particular, those sentenced to death. Under Bryan’s leadership, the EJI has won major legal challenges which...