The Atlanta Lawyer August/September 2015 | Page 14

50th Anniversary of the Voting Rights Act

VOTING RIGHTS: 50 years LATER
Honoring civil rights icon Congressman John
Lewis. Featuring a distinguished panel of voting
rights authorities.

T

he Atlanta Bar Association, under the leadership of
President Harold E. Franklin, Jr., convened a panel of
preeminent national and local voting rights experts for
a discussion to mark the 50th anniversary of the landmark
Voting Rights Act of 1965. The event also included a
conversation between civil rights icon Congressman John
Lewis and legendary civil rights lawyer Fred Gray, moderated
by Monica Kaufman Pearson, held at the Emory School of
Law.
14 THE ATLANTA LAWYER

August/September 2015

The program presented a thoughtful discussion by panelists
with differing views and perspectives surrounding the
legal issues involving changes to the Voting Rights Act.
Moderated by CNN Anchor Fredricka Whitfield, the diverse
panel was comprised of Barbara Arnwine, executive director
emerita for the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under
the Law; Jason Carter, Bondurant Mixson & Elmore partner
and former Democratic State Senator; Debo Adegbile,
partner at Wilmer Hale and lawyer who argued the landmark
Shelby County v. Holder in the United States Supreme
The Official News Publication of the Atlanta Bar Association