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Commission on Human Rights
Color of Justice at UK
LEXINGTON – The Kentucky Commission on Human Rights (KCHR) will bring to Kentucky for the second time a national initiative to introduce minority high school students to careers in the legal profession. The Color of Justice is a program of the National Association of Women Judges (NAWJ) for which KCHR Executive Director Linda Strite Murnane serves as membership outreach chair.
The commission will present its second Color of Justice program from 2 to 5 p.m., Saturday, April 22, at the University of Kentucky (UK) College of Law located at South Limestone Street in Lexington. The press is invited.
Approximately 50 students are expected to attend from high schools such as Henry Clay, P.L. Dunbar, Lafayette, Tates Creek, and Hardin County. During the program, the winner of the $1000 NAWJ Equal Justice Scholarship will also be announced. University of Kentucky law students were eligible to apply for the scholarship in conjunction with the Color of Justice program.
The Color of Justice is designed to encourage students to consider the law and judgeships as career goals. The program focuses on career preparation, panel discussions with judges and lawyers, law students sharing personal and professional insights, and small group discussions with instructors. The one-day program provides an environment where discussion and debate among participants can flourish.
Black Law Student Association (BLSA) members will serve as panelists. Panelists include UK Law School faculty, attorneys from Lexington, Louisville, Frankfort and Hardin County, and the Honorable Pamela Goodwine from Lexington.
Upon completion of the program, the participants will:
• Be motivated to pursue a career in the law and the judiciary;
• Identify the academic requirements and skills needed to be successful in a career in law and the judiciary;
• Understand the importance of the personal commitment, passion, and perseverance needed to achieve a career goal;
• Understand the Judicial Branch of government; and
• Appreciate and understand the role and responsibility of a judge.
Kentucky’s first Color of Justice program was presented by the KCHR in October 2005 at the University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law, with 40 students participating.
The third Color of Justice program is planned for the Northern Kentucky University Chase College of Law in fall 2006.
The KCHR is the state government agency that enforces the Kentucky Civil Rights Act and the policies of federal civil rights laws. It initiates, receives, investigates, conciliates and rules upon jurisdictional complaints. The KCHR has jurisdiction in housing, employment, public accommodations, financial transactions, and private clubs. The Kentucky Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, familial status in housing, disability, age (40 or over) in employment, and smoking status in employment. Complaints not dismissed, settled or conciliated go to administrative hearing where commission decisions have the authority of a court of law.
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