Prominent Civil Rights Attorney Benjamin Crump to Speak at TSU’s Fall 2016 Commencement

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (TSU News Service) – Prominent civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump will be the keynote speaker at Tennessee State University’s Fall 2016 Commencement on Dec. 10.

Crump is the noted Florida lawyer who represented the families of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, and Terence Crutcher in police shooting cases that made headlines around the world. Crump was also an advocate in the Robbie Tolan police brutality U.S. Supreme Court case, as well as the Martin Lee Anderson boot camp death case.

Civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump speaks at 25th anniversary gala for the National Association of African American Honors Programs held at TSU on Oct. 31. (photo by Emmanuel Freeman, TSU Media Relations)

Last month, Crump was the keynote speaker at the 25th anniversary gala for the National Association of African American Honors Programs held at TSU on Oct. 31.

During his speech, he said that those who see injustice and do nothing help to promote abuse. He told students, in particular, that as future leaders and educators they have a “moral” obligation to help stem out injustices in their communities.

“You’re the ones who are going to have the good jobs, you are going to have the education, you have the talent, and if you don’t speak up for our community, if you don’t stand up for our community, if you don’t fight for our community, then who will,” he said.

Crump is the 73rd President of the National Bar Association, the largest organization of lawyers of color in the world, representing over 60,000 black lawyers, judges, and legal professionals. He has received numerous awards, including the SCLC Martin Luther King Servant Leader Award, and the NAACP Thurgood Marshall Award. Ebony Magazine has recognized him as one of the Top 100 trial lawyers.

“Attorney Crump believes in fighting to preserve the justice that minorities have achieved throughout the civil rights era,” according to Crump’s website.

The commencement is scheduled for 9 a.m. in the Howard C. Gentry Complex on the university’s main campus. More than 600 undergraduate and graduate students will receive degrees in various disciplines during the ceremony at the Howard C. Gentry Complex on the university’s main campus.

Department of Media Relations

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About Tennessee State University

With more than 9,000 students, Tennessee State University is Nashville’s only public university, and is a comprehensive, urban, co-educational, land-grant university offering 38 undergraduate, 25 graduate and seven doctoral programs. TSU has earned a top 20 ranking for Historically Black Colleges and Universities according to U.S. News and World Report, and rated as one of the top universities in the country by Washington Monthly for social mobility, research and community service. Founded in 1912, Tennessee State University celebrated 100 years in Nashville during 2012. Visit the University online at tnstate.edu.