Nominees sought for WCBA 'I Have A Dream' Award

Nominations are being sought for the Martin Luther King, Jr. "I Have a Dream" Award which will be presented at the Washtenaw County Bar Association's annual Bias Awareness Dinner Meeting on Thursday, October 16. The Martin Luther King, Jr. "I Have a Dream" Award recognizes persons or organizations that have fostered greater awareness and sensitivity to racial, ethnic and gender bias issues in the legal system and have made strides toward the goal of eliminating such biases. Criteria for the award include: 1. Promoting equal access to the judicial system and unbiased treatment within the judicial system to all persons; 2. Implementing the recommendations of the Michigan Supreme Court Task Force (www.michbar.org/programs/REGissues.cfm) on gender, racial and ethnic issues in the courts; 3. Sensitizing members of the Washtenaw County Bar Association and special purpose bar associations to the more subtle forms of discriminatory treatment, and personally working towards eliminating them. Send the name of your nominee with a short explanation of why you believe he or she should receive the award to Kyeena Slater at slaterk@ewashtenaw.org. All nominations will be submitted to the Race, Gender & Ethnic Bias Awareness Committee. The deadline for submission is Aug. 8. Nominee recommendations will be presented to the WCBA Board of Directors on Sept. 25. Past recipients of the award include: Julia D. Darlow (1992); Judge Harold Hood (1992); Ruth Zweifler (1993); Jerome Strong (1994); Ypsilanti-Willow Run NAACP (1995); Joseph Dulin (1996); Victoria A. Roberts (1997); Dores M. McCree (1998); Letitia J. Byrd (1999); The Fair Housing Center of Washtenaw County (2000); Rev. Herbert R. Lowe (2001); Catholic Social Services of Washtenaw County (2002); The Neutral Zone (2003); The Robert J. Delonis Center (2004); The Women's Center of America (2005); John W. Phillips, Department of Public Safety, Pittsfield Township (2006); Judge Nancy C. Francis (2007); Lloyd E. Powell, Washtenaw County Public Defender (2008); Deborah Labelle, Molly Reno, and Richard Soble (2009); Judge Melinda Morris (2010); Sheriff Jerry L. Clayton (2011); Blondeen Munson (2012); Judge Damon J. Keith (2013). Published: Thu, Jul 24, 2014