Law for the People: The Civil Rights School
September 22-23, 2006
Welcome Address
Dean Kurt Schmoke, Dean, Howard University School of Law
Associate Dean Okianer Dark, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Howard University School of Law
Professor Tamar Meekins, Director, Clinical Law Center, Howard University School of Law.
40 Years after the Open Housing Movement: Gautreaux, Dr. King, Chicago and Beyond
Introduction of Speaker: Derek Black
Speaker: Alexander Polikoff, Esquire
Director, Public Housing Transformation Initiative & author of Waiting for Gautreaux.
Environmental Justice & Housing: Are Minorities more likely to Live in Environmentally Unsafe Areas?
Moderator: Akilah Gibson, Class 0f 2007
Speakers:
Vernice Miller-Travis: Executive Director, Groundworks
Daria Neal: Staff Attorney in the Environmental Justice Project at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights under Law in Washington, D.C.
Presentation of Writing Contest Winners
This session will introduce the winners of The 2006 Law for the People Scholarship and Writing Contest. The winners will be announced during the luncheon program. High School contestants submitted essays on the topic “What are the major civil rights challenges facing young people today?”
Equal Housing and Equal Justice Issues After Hurricane Katrina: What Is to Be Done?
Moderator: Jeremy Broussard
Speakers:
Terrell Broussard, Esq., Partner, Montgomery Barnett, New Orleans, LA
Martha Bergmark, Executive Director, Mississippi Center for Justice, Gulfport, MS
Katrina: A Break in the Storm
Howard University students and faculty discuss their spring break experience in New Orleans helping to cleanup and rebuild the storm-ravaged city. See footage of the city and hear the survivors talk of their desire and determination to rebuild. The film was produced by Brian Platt in association with Howard University Television.
Fair Housing, Equality and Enforcement in the 21st Century
Introduction of Speaker: Brian Gilmore, Esquire, Clinical Supervising Attorney/Adjunct Professor, Fair Housing Clinic
Speaker:
Bryan Greene, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Programs, HUD.
Housing Justice Locally: Modern Developments
Three of the area’s more knowledgeable housing specialists discuss the state of housing on the local level on a variety of different, but relevant topics, including discrimination, gentrification, real estate scams, and affordability.
Moderator: Masai McDougall — Class of 2008, Howard University School of Law
Panelists: Akita Smith, Fair Housing Section D.C. Office of Human Rights
Mary Douglas Housing Counseling Services
Sonia Guiterrez Fair Housing Programs D.C. Department of Housing and Community Development