Stetson students bring Florida leaders together for Black Lives Matter panel discussion
Professor Judith A.M. Scully (left) moderated a discussion about the Black Lives Matter movement with panelists (l-r) Naji Mujahid, Dr. Bennie Small, Kene Anusionwu, and Anthony Holloway.
Stetson Law community members listen to the Black Lives Matter panel discussion at the Gulfport campus on Sept. 6, 2016.
NAACP Hillsborough chapter president Dr. Bennie Small, criminal defense attorneys Kene Anusionwu and Naji Mujahid and St. Petersburg Chief of Police Anthony Holloway discussed the Black Lives Matter movement at Stetson University College of Law in Gulfport on Sept. 6.
The event was co-sponsored by several Stetson law student organizations including the Black Law Students Association, Dream Defenders, Innocence Initiative, the Pillars and the Second Amendment Society.
Speakers discussed the myths surrounding the Black Lives Matter movement, and what law students can do as future attorneys and policy makers to facilitate positive change.
Chelsea Leyden, a 3L Stetson student and an organizer for the event, said that a law school was the perfect setting for discussion of the Black Lives Matter movement because students will become attorneys and lawmakers.
“We’ll be the defense attorneys protecting those involved in related cases, the prosecutors choosing whether or not to drop charges in related cases, the judges overseeing these cases and making the judicial decisions, or we’ll be writing and/or changing the laws that will effectuate the way these cases are handled moving forward,” said Leyden.
The event began with comments from Diriki Geuka, a Stetson 3L student and president of Stetson’s Student Bar Association.
“I think it’s important that we’re gathered here to talk about Black Lives Matter,” said Geuka. “I think it’s also important that we’re here doing it in a civil setting and that we’re doing it in a way that’s going to give us an opportunity to bring about change in our society.”
The event was also co-sponsored by Stetson’s Social Justice Advocacy concentration program, which is co-directed by professors Judith A.M. Scully, Ann Piccard, and Kristen Adams who can be contacted for additional information.
Audio from the Black Lives Matter Panel Discussion:
Post date: Sept. 9, 2016
Media contact: Kate Bradshaw
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