Law Day speaker known for breaking racial barriers
Published 11:29 am Monday, May 12, 2014
A federal appeals court judge with a history of breaking racial barriers will be the keynote speaker at the Bowling Green-Warren County Bar Association’s annual Law Day program.
Judge Bernice Donald of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit will head the program, which begins at 10 a.m. Tuesday at the Capitol Arts Center.
Traditionally on May 1, Law Day is typically a time when many local bar associations and legal societies have programs to educate students on the law’s role in building and maintaining a democratic society.
The local bar association honors some of its members each year with awards that recognize excellence in certain areas of the law.
“The purpose of it is to inform the public, particularly young people, about the importance of the rule of law and how our democracy and freedoms are based on the rule of law,” said longtime Bowling Green attorney Charles English Sr. “We in Bowling Green have had a tradition over the years of having really outstanding Law Day programs and this year is one of those banner years.”
Donald, 62, a Mississippi native who helped integrate her local high school, received a law degree from what was then Memphis State University and has forged a groundbreaking career in law.
In 1982, Donald became the first black female judge in Tennessee’s history and was appointed to a federal bankruptcy court judgeship six years later, becoming the first black female on the bench there.
Donald was nominated by then-President Bill Clinton in 1995 to U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, where she served for 16 years.
President Barack Obama then nominated Donald to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit, which hears cases appealed from lower courts in Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio and Michigan.
Donald is the first black female judge to sit on the bench for the Sixth Circuit.
English said that he hoped Donald’s story would resonate with minority youths in the area and encourage them to pursue a career in law.
“Judge Donald has been very active on a national basis on diversity issues. … She’s truly a very outstanding, unique individual,” English said. “If there is a vacancy on the United States Supreme Court, she would certainly be on the short list of nominees to be considered for that vacancy.”
Any member of the public is invited to the free event.
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