South Florida Law School Creates Ben Crump Social Justice Center
MIAMI GARDENS (CBSMiami/AP) -- A South Florida law school announced on Thursday the creation of a new Center for Social Justice named after Ben Crump, the Black civil rights attorney who has gained national notoriety representing victims of police brutality and vigilante violence.
The Benjamin L. Crump Center for Social Justice, housed at the St. Thomas University College of Law in Miami Gardens, aims to train the next generation of civil rights lawyers and social justice engineers.
Calls for racial justice saw greater prominence in the wake of the 2020 protests over George Floyd's murder by a Minneapolis police officer. But the nation lacks a robust pipeline of social justice lawyers ready to take on such cases, said Crump, who has represented the families of Floyd, Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown and Breonna Taylor, among others.
"We really are trying to prepare an army — the next generation of social justice engineers," the Tallahassee, Florida-based attorney told The Associated Press.
"We will have the next Thurgood Marshall, the next Constance Baker Motley, or the next Kamala Harris, to light the way for our community and get the American promise of liberty and justice for all," Crump added.
The center is initially funded by a $1 million leadership grant from Truist Financial Corporation's charitable fund.
It will also increase need-based financial aid for students and will assist new lawyers with expanded pro bono service placements.
"No one becomes Ben Crump on their first day as a lawyer, but mentorship is critical to building the confidence and the platform for people to excel," said Tamara Lawson, dean of the St. Thomas University College of Law.
Lawson said the center will focus on training students to be leaders in social justice lawyering. "It's not just about participating in the work, but creating the vision and taking it to the next level," she said.
On Thursday, the law school also will launch a $35 million fundraising campaign to expand its ongoing training of lawyers who fight for social justice. The money is expected to be used for construction of a new building for the Crump Center, as well as new classrooms and simulated courtrooms, Lawson said.
The university's announcement comes a week after Crump, with civil rights leader the Rev. Al Sharpton and the family of Ahmaud Arbery, heralded guilty verdicts in the murder trial of three white men in Arbery's death. The 25-year-old Black man was chased and then shot and killed in February 2020 as he jogged through the men's Brunswick, Georgia, neighborhood. The verdicts notched yet another high-profile victory for Crump, whom some call " Black America's attorney general. "
As a past president of the National Bar Association, the largest network of predominantly Black attorneys and judges, Crump said civil rights and social justice lawyering isn't seen as a lucrative area of practice for aspiring attorneys. He said he hopes that lending his name to the center inspires law school students to consider social justice as a worthy, career-long pursuit.
(© Copyright 2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)