Oct. 30
9:00 am–5:00 pm
Zoom
The Dickerson Centennial Conference marks the 100th anniversary of the graduation of one of the Law School's most distinguished alumni, Earl B. Dickerson.
Dickerson graduated from the Law School in 1920, the first African American to earn a juris doctor from our institution. His distinguished career included serving as a Second Lieutenant in the US Army in WWI, an alderman of Chicago, president of the Supreme Life Insurance Company, a member of the national board of the NAACP, and president of the National Lawyers Guild. He also won the Supreme Court case of Hansberry v. Lee (1940), a challenge to racially restrictive covenants in Chicago.
A distinguished group of historians and legal scholars will place the life and accomplishments of Earl Dickerson in historical perspective at this conference. The event will also feature a distinguished group of Chicago lawyers, activists, and artists who will remember Dickerson’s powerful legacy of advocacy and leadership through a series of discussions and performances.