Honoring the Icons: Role Models Who Shaped the Law and Society

With all the turmoil and finger pointing going on in the country and with the U.S. Supreme Court in a tizzy, it is sometimes good to look back and honor some positive role models we have had in our lives.

November is National Inspirational Role Model Month so Next Witness…Please cohosts and retired judges Gayle Williams-Byers and Thomas Hodson share with you some people who have been their inspirations, especially in the law.

Judge Byers highlights Emmeline Parkhurst, known as the mother of women suffragettes fighting for women’s right to vote in the late 19th and 20th centuries. She was a British activist.

Henrietta Lacks, also named by Judge Byers. Lacks was a black woman for whom the world owes gratitude. She had her cancer cells collected, and it helped unlock the miracles of “He-La” cells or “immortal cells.” These cells have led to vaccines for HPV, polio, and treatments for AIDS, cancer, Parkinson’s disease and COVID-19. The cell line continues after seven decades.

Judge Byers also cites President Lyndon B. Johnson through his first term in office. He used his pressure and influence as President and former Senator to push through the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Right Act of 1965. His initiatives led to prohibiting discrimination based on race, color, sex, or national origin.

Both, Judge Byers and Judge Hodson talk of the amazing record of former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, the first African American to serve on the court.

Judge Hodson gives major inspirational credit to Chicago trial lawyer Clarence Darrow. In the early 20th Century, Darrow was a major labor attorney and criminal defense attorney. During his career, he represented the defendants in
the Leopold and Loeb case and a black physician Dr. Ossian Sweet in a murder case. He is most famous for his defense in the “Scopes Monkey Trial” in Tennessee where he defended the teaching of evolution. Also, Darrow worked diligently against the death penalty.

Finally, the parties agree to honor former Supreme Court Justice, Sandra Day O’Connor. She was the first woman to sit on the Supreme Court. She was known for her judicial scholarship but also for her commitment to promoting K-12 “civics education” upon her retirement.