By Paul Janczewski
Legal News
In 1993, A. Kay Stanfield-Spinks had a dream.
As then-president of the D. Augustus Straker Bar Association, Stanfield-Spinks wanted to start a multi-faceted program that honored Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., supported Detroit-area youth, and exposed those teens to potential careers in the law.
Now, that dream has been realized over and over, and will manifest itself again with the 18th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Drum Major for Justice Advocacy Competition.
This year’s event will be held this Saturday, Feb. 27 at noon at the Thomas M. Cooley Law School’s Auburn Hills campus, located at 2630 Featherstone Rd.
Six finalists from public high schools in Oakland and Wayne counties will present oral presentations on their position on the topic of health care — specifically, is there a fundamental right to health care, who should have access to it, under what circumstances, and how would Dr. King respond to the issue, if he were alive today.
The finalists, all high school juniors and seniors, will also discuss whether they agree or disagree with King’s posthumous perceived position, and why.
It’s a pretty heady topic, but one that organizers believe will once again bring out the best and brightest thought-provoking responses from area youth.
Those competitions in the past have done so, and there’s no reason to believe this year’s event will be any different.
“I have absolutely enjoyed watching (the program) grow,” Stanfield-Spinks, now a magistrate at the 46th District Court in Southfield, said during a recent interview.
Although somewhat modest in accepting praise and talking about her brainchild, Stanfield-Spinks is proud of what it has become.
“I just wanted to do something that would lead to some good,” she said.
Besides the Straker Association, the event also has been sponsored by the Association of Black Judges of Michigan and the Wolverine Bar Association. But to fully understand the importance of the program, it’s necessary to give an historic perspective of those groups.
According to its Web site, the Wolverine Bar Association was established during the 1930s by a number of African-American attorneys “to coordinate the energies and talents” of the ever-increasing number of attorneys of color who had been admitted to the state bar.
From the beginning, the WBA has assumed a leadership role in community and political activities, and its roots are based from the Harlan Law Club, founded in 1919 by Detroit-area attorneys who were excluded by other local and state bar associations.
It was named in honor of the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice John H. Harlan, who was dedicated to the goal of equal treatment under the law for everyone in society.
The Straker Association was formed in 1990 as a “proactive organization of diverse attorneys with a mission of promoting legal practice opportunities for minorities and women and to facilitate equal justice for all citizens,” according to its Web site.
It was named for D. Augustus Straker, a pioneering African-American attorney, author and jurist.
Born in the West Indies, Straker came to the United States to educate former slaves and received his law degree from Howard University in 1871.
After working as a customs inspector in South Carolina, Straker was elected and re-elected twice to the state’s legislature, and later became Dean of Law at Allen University.
After his tenure there, Straker moved to Detroit to practice law, and became the first African-American attorney to appear before the Michigan Supreme Court, successfully arguing that the state‘s “separate but equal“ doctrine was unconstitutional.
Straker was later elected as Michigan’s first African-American jurist, and in 1892 became a Wayne County Circuit Court Commissioner, serving two terms.
The Association of Black Judges of Michigan is an affiliate of the National Bar Association and is open to past and present elected jurists.
While president of Straker, Stanfield-Spinks said the name and idea for the Drum Major competition came from remarks King made when he was alive, saying he wanted to become a “drum major for justice.”
“I wanted to start a program that honored Dr. King’s wish,” she said. “I also wanted to create a program to support youth and get them the opportunity to engage in advocacy, and examine legal and social questions issues in writing and orally.”
The competition was born, and consisted of students writing a brief essay adopting stances for or against specific issues of the day.
Those essays were read and evaluated by a committee of attorneys who mentor the students and narrowed the field to the six top papers.
What followed was a plethora of knowledge that surprised and amazed everyone connected with the contest over the years.
“The quality of research the students engaged in and the quality of orations has been magnificent,” Stanfield-Spinks said.
“I think Dr. King would be very proud to know that the legacy he left behind lives on, generation after generation, and that the principles for equality of justice is stronger than ever,” she said.
For this year’s topic, students were given some background – on April 3, 1968, King delivered his final address in support of striking sanitation workers in Memphis, one day before his assassination.
In his final speech, King spoke about injustice, and “streets flowing with milk and honey” in contrast to the slums he saw and children who “can’t eat three square meals a day.”
Erika Butler-Akinyemi, a Straker member and this year’s chairperson for the event, said nine high schools participated, and 82 essays were received before being narrowed to the final six – four girls and two boys, four seniors and two juniors. She said the names of the students will not be released until the competition on Saturday.
“These essays are very thoughtful and well-written,” she said.
“We try to pick different themes each year,” Butler-Akinyemi said.
In the past, topics have included racial profiling, elections, including the election of the nation’s first black President last year, equal rights, affirmative action, and diversity.
“There is a method to the madness when we develop the topics,” she said. “We try to identify a topic of interest to the community and society that is contemporary and ties into Dr. King’s legacy.”
Those essays were distributed to a committee of readers, who used a set of criteria — including content, clarity, creativity and persuasiveness — to select the finest pieces.
The schools and names of students submitting the essays are hidden from the readers to avoid any appearance of conflict.
Butler-Akinyemi said the field is initially narrowed to the top 20 or 30 essays, and then the top six finalists are selected from that group.
“It’s a testament that the best essays rise to the top in a process that is fair,” she said. “We call upon young people to use their analytical and oratorical skills to advocate a position, and over the years the students have done that quite well.”
Butler-Akinyemi said she has chaired this event in the past and said it is a “vital and important pipeline program” to expose the legal service population and “help students identify early-on to a career in law, or any career they would like to pursue.”
Every finalist receives an award, including a trophy, plaque and a savings bond of some monetary value. Books are also donated by other sponsors, she said. A large number of other corporate sponsors are also involved, Butler-Akinyemi said.
Butler-Akinyemi said the King competition is “one of our flagstaff programs.”
Straker also puts on the Trailblazers Dinner, to recognize pioneers in the legal community, a Corporate Counsel Breakfast for minorities and women attorneys to interact with corporations, and programs to increase membership, mentor law school students and provide financial resources to the community.
Butler-Akinyemi said she also believes King would appreciate the essence of the competition, were he alive today.
“When you look back at what he advocated, it’s clear to me his agenda went farther than just race,” she said. “His legacy also goes much deeper, and his focus shifted from issues of race to issues of policy.”
Although the competition hopes to interest students to get into the field of law, that is not the ultimate goal.
“If some do, that makes us very happy,” Butler-Akinyemi said. “But what we care about the most is allowing students to showcase themselves, their talents and abilities, in a positive light.”
Two finalists from recent years have entered the field of law, and ironically, they are brother and sister.
Louis A. Brown Jr., an attorney currently living in Washington, D.C., placed third in 1999. He was attending Brother Rice High School, but had been exposed to the competition for years when his mother, a teacher at Mumford High School, would get her students to write essays and enter.
He and his sister, Danielle M. Brown, would accompany their mother to the competition as youngsters, see the students, and rub shoulders with the legal community.
“I saw so many judges and attorneys of color, it had a big impact on me,” Louis Brown said. “It made me believe I can become an attorney.”
He said hearing King’s legacy spoken by students made him aware of issues and needs in civil rights, voting and empowering the urban community. After graduating from James Madison College at Michigan State University in 2003, Brown entered the Howard University School of Law and graduated from there in 2007.
“I believe this competition is instrumental in drawing Detroit high school students to think about, analyze and form opinions on issues of civil rights, politics and social change,” Brown said.
Danielle M. Brown was a senior at Marian High School in Bloomfield Hills when she entered the competition, placing third.
She also was influenced to become an attorney by seeing those people at the competitions and learning that “attorneys were regular people.”
The Straker competition at one point was adopted by the National Bar Association, and Danielle Brown also attended that event. Brown said she was impressed by the judges who attended the local event, often wearing their robes and giving the competition an air of professionalism.
“It gave it a real life experience, and the caliber of lawyers that attend makes it a big deal,” she said. “The ambiance is fantastic.”
Danielle Brown graduated from Cooley in 2008, and is now a State of Michigan Administrative Law Judge.
“This competition is a real showcase of Detroit’s talent, and sorely, sorely needed opportunity for students and teachers that show kids do have talent.”
“Our schools, and students, are not all failing. It’s a very important event,” Danielle Brown said.
Solon M. Phillips, president of Straker, called the competition “the jewel of our association.”
“It’s an opportunity to showcase the talent of the young people we have in the Detroit area in terms of their writing and oratorical skills,” he said.
“I continue to be amazed by their ability to understand the topic and apply it in their daily lives,” Phillips said.
Michelle A. Carter, president of the Wolverine Bar Association, said the competition is “good exposure for the students.”
She said the topics raise students awareness of their community, black history and King and his legacy, among other things, and “hones their written, oratorical and advocacy skills.’
Wayne County Probate Judge Judy Hartsfield, president of the Association of Black Judges of Michigan, said her group enjoys the participation in the event.
Like others, she praised the oratorical, written verbal and analytical skills of the students, and “the opportunity to see young adults involved in social activities.”
The event switches from Wayne and Oakland counties from year to year. Dean John Nussbaumer said he is pleased it is being held at his law school this year.
“We at Cooley have started working with local high schools, and this is part of our continuing effort to reach out to local schools to increase diversity of students who may be interested in the legal profession,” Nussbaumer said. “And this competition is a perfect way to do that.”
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