Ceremony & Presentation Recognizing Frank M. Johnson, Jr. Federal Building & United States Courthouse As a National Historic Landmark, 0716 ALBJ, 77 The Alabama Lawyer 276(2016)
| Position | Vol. 77 4 Pg. 276 |
United States District Court
Middle District of Alabama
Montgomery, Alabama
Presented by the National Park Service Courtroom 2–FMJ
Frank M. Johnson, Jr. Federal Building and United States Courthouse
One Church Street
Montgomery, Alabama
Monday, July 20, 2015
MR. KEVIN LEAR: Thanks to everybody for coming today. This is a presentation as a National Historic Landmark for the Frank M. Johnson Courthouse.
My name is Kevin Lear. I’m from GSA. I am proud to introduce the first speaker today, Mayor Strange.
MAYOR TODD STRANGE: I am delighted to be here and to welcome Administrator Jarvis. Jon and I saw each other on a couple of occasions during the historic 50th anniversary. I’ve just met Administrator Jessup, and we appreciate all the support that GSA has given to this historic opportunity that we have right here in Montgomery.
You might remember that about 46 years ago, a gentleman by the name of Neil Armstrong landed on the moon, and he took his historic small step, but giant step for mankind. I couldn’t help but make the connectivity that four years before that, 50 years ago in March, there were thousands who took part in a march that changed mankind and changed this country forever. Where we are today played a very historic role in allowing that to happen.
Judge Myron Thompson was not there then, and Frank Johnson was.
So I’m honored to be here. I’m honored to be a part of this great occasion. We thank you personally for the efforts that each of you have made. I am honored to introduce a senior judge, the Honorable Myron H. Thompson, senior United States District Judge for the Middle District of Alabama. I wish I could come with some eloquence, but there are not many people who are legends in their own time. I get to introduce one today and, on Wednesday, I get to introduce another one. I get to introduce Nick Saban.
So with that, please welcome the Honorable Judge Myron Thompson.
(applause)
JUDGE MYRON THOMPSON: Before I begin my remarks, first of all, I recognize Judge Carnes and mayor and other judges and people from the Park Service and General Services Administration, but I can’t let Mayor Strange’s Nick Saban comment go by. (laughter) Another judge referred to my chambers here as a sports wasteland because I know absolutely nothing about sports. And when my middle son played football in high school, I jokingly told my federal judges that I could finally learn the difference between football and basketball. They did not take that as a joke. (laughter) Almost 20 years ago I spoke at the dedication of the new building next door. And I then noted that I would soon be 50, but that in one sense I would be 50 and in another sense I would be half that age. I explained that for the first 25 years of my life, there was only one place in the entire expanse of this state’s government that allowed–let alone, wanted–me to be human. And that place was the plot of land on which sits this courthouse, the Frank M. Johnson Courthouse. It is a small plot, but it was the only institution of government of which I felt that I could be a part. Indeed, one of the principal reasons for my return south was to practice in this court on this plot of land. Home, for me, was here. And insofar as recognizing my dignity as a human being, home, for me, was only here. This court, this building, this courtroom, was an island of hope in a sea of hostility.
When I did return, however, I found that this plot, this island, this courthouse we are now in, had expanded. And now it is possible that I could be a full Alabama citizen, having waited 25 years of my life for that. I therefore measured my Alabama citizenship from that return. In that sense, unlike many of you who were born in this state but of a different hue from me, I measured my Alabama citizenship not from my birth, though I was born here, but from my return when I was 25 years old. In that sense, I was a young man, young to citizenship in the state in which I was born; and in that sense, this state was a young government, young to the old democratic notions of equality and full citizenship. Therefore, when I became chief judge and found that one of my first projects was the expansion of the federal courthouse, I knew that I was here for a purpose. I was old enough to remember what was and yet young enough to appreciate what is and what could still be.
I then went on to explain back then at the dedication the relationship between this current courthouse and the new courthouse. I explained that the semicircular structure which is next door was not merely a...
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