U.S. Attorney's Office To Co-Host CLE Program Celebrating 50Th Anniversary Of Title VII

Memphis, TN – In commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the passage of Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, a Continuing Legal Education program entitled, “Remaking America: 50 Years of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act” will be held at the University of Memphis Cecil Humphreys School of Law on Friday, June 13, 2014, from 11 a.m. until 5:00 p.m., announced U.S. Attorney Edward L. Stanton III.

The program, hosted by the United States Attorney’s Office, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Cecil Humphreys School of Law and the National Bar Association, will feature Paulette Brown, President-Elect of the American Bar Association (ABA) as the luncheon speaker and panelist. Ms. Brown is an attorney with Edwards Wildman in Morristown, N.J. If elected, she will be the first woman of color to lead the ABA. Also in attendance will be P. David Lopez, General Counsel of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Washington, D.C. Other panelists will include federal district judges William J. Haynes, Jr., Brian S. Miller and S. Thomas Anderson, and Tennessee attorneys Donald Donati, Michael Cody, Waverly Crenshaw and Walter Bailey. Attorneys attending the program can receive 4.5 hours of CLE.

As late as the 1960s, it was not uncommon in America to see classified advertisements that openly stated, “White Only,” “Men Only,” “Negroes need not apply,” “No Irish,” “No Jews,” and other equally discriminatory statements. Blacks, women, religious and other minorities were often relegated to the lowest paying and most undesirable jobs.

On July 2, 1964, President Johnson signed Title VII into law. It prohibits discrimination in employment decisions “because of an individual’s race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.” The bill created the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

“America has come a long way since the days of the ‘No Colored’ and ‘No Women’ want-ads. While impermissible discrimination still exists, it does not exist in the open and notorious way that it did prior to 1964. African Americans, women and other minorities have made great strides in obtaining employment opportunities once thought unimaginable,” said U.S. Attorney Stanton. “Title VII’s role in opening opportunities for all of America’s citizens cannot be overstated.”

For information about attending this event, contact Brenda Webber at 901-544-0122.