Benjamin Schumann, also a second-year FAMU law student,
said, "it paints a world of black and white to works of color, culture and
opportunity."
Katia Wilson, a third-year law student who serves as Student
Bar Association (SBA) President, said education is important to her because,
"it took me to Africa at 19 years old, and to China at 22 - free of
charge."
The law students joined event organizers and special guest
jurists in expressing "Why Education is Important to Me" before a
near capacity crowd at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts
(DPCPA). The declarations were the opening lines to their roles in
commemorating the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the American Civil
Rights Movement through the "Spreading the Dream" program.
The two-hour performance took place in the Center's Walt Disney Theater with an audience that included more than 2,000 middle school students from all 36 Orange County middle schools on Tuesday, January 13, 2015.
The event centered on the landmark Brown v. Board of
Education case while highlighting milestone events, legislation, judicial
rulings and people associated with the Civil Rights Movement.
The "Spreading the Dream" initiative offers unique
components specifically designed to reach young students through a combined
effort by the FAMU College of Law, the African American Council of Christian
Clergy (AACCC), Orange County Public Schools (OCPS), DPCPA, and the City of
Orlando Mayor's Martin Luther King, Jr. Commission.
The collaboration promotes a broader understanding of
history and the law, while building an appreciation for academic achievement,
diversity and community involvement.
Following a pre-show featuring chorus students from Gotha
Middle School, Wilson introduced stage guests who set the scene for the
culminating portion of the performance - a reenactment of select arguments of
the Brown v. Board of Education case.
In expressing why education is important, each speaker drew
from personal accounts of overcoming obstacles, and made comparisons to either
Linda Brown, the young girl at the center of the landmark case, or to the
efforts of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The common theme with each
declaration was "opportunity through effort" for the attending middle
school students.
Prior to the reenactment, the middle school students would
receive greetings and encouraging words from Dr. Barbara Jenkins, OCPS
Superintendent; LeRoy Pernell, Dean, FAMU College of Law; Larry Mills, AACCC
President; Brandy Hand, Orlando Mayor's MLK Commission; and Scott Galbraith,
Vice President, DPCPA.
FAMU College of Law Professor Patricia Broussard followed by
providing historical perspectives leading up to the Brown case, including
citations of slavery and Jim Crow laws.
For the reenactment portion, College of Law second-year
students Lynn, and Gavin Molden provided background details on the lawyers who
argued Brown and how the case made it to the Supreme Court combined with four
similar cases from across the country.
Third-year law students Kristen Taylor and Eric Nemons
performed the reenactment, reciting arguments from the Court transcript
respectively as Attorneys Robert Carter and Thurgood Marshall before the
Honorable Alicia Latimore and the Honorable Faye Allen, judges with the Ninth
Judicial Circuit, who performed as Justices of the Supreme Court.
The event concluded with words from event organizer Roderick
Zak, Pastor, Rejoice in the Lord Ministries; the Honorable Charles T. Wells,
former Justice of the Florida Supreme Court; and the Honorable Glenda Hatchett,
a television celebrity who is well known for presiding over the syndicated
show, Judge Hatchett.
The middle school students attending the event will also
participate in a "Spreading the Dream" essay contest that focuses on
the Civil Rights Era, with a $100 prize given to each school's top
essayist. The overall winner will be awarded an additional $500.
"Spreading the Dream" premiered in 2014 as an
initiative with the FAMU College of Law, the AACCC and OCPS. The
inaugural collaboration featured a similar program agenda with the Brown
presentation offered to four middle schools, reaching just over 300 students
over a two-day period at the FAMU College of Law Ceremonial Moot
Courtroom.
Because of the resounding success of the 2014 program, the
event was expanded this year to not only include all Orange County middle
schools, but also to garner collaboration with the City of Orlando Mayor's
Martin Luther King, Jr. Commission, as well as the DPCPA.
Sponsors of this year's event included Bright House
Networks, GrayRobinson, Mears Transportation Group, Walt Disney World, Hello
Florida Destination Management, Orange County Bar Association, Delaware North,
LGM Enterprises, Mango's Tropical Cafe Orlando, T&G Constructors, Mims
Constructors, PSA Constructors and Tupperware.