Georgia Lord Law

Who Are Your Juneteenth Heroes? Here Are Several of Mine! Juneteenth was a day about promises of freedom. It feels to me like a wonderful occasion to remember and celebrate some civil rights heroes.... There are many whose courage and sacrifice led our nation closer to equality and freedom. Today I want to lift up 5 of these individuals who are special to me. Bayard Rustin A primary architect of the nonviolent resistance tactics of the civil rights movement who was not only a brilliant strategist and organizer, but also a man of conscience who steadfastly refused to sacrifice his pacifist principles or to hide the fact that he was gay, even after these commitments cost him dearly. The more I learn about Bayard Rustin, the more I admire him and want to emulate him! Fannie Lou Hamer A Mississippi sharecropper who repeatedly, and courageously, stepped forward to promote voting rights, and electoral power, for African-Americans and people living in poverty. I admire Mrs. Hamer for her courage and her persistence as well as for her beautiful singing voice and its power to inspire! Rosa Parks -- Rosa Parks, of course, was a civil rights activist who refused to surrender her seat to a white passenger on a segregated bus in Montgomery, Alabama. Her defiance sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott. I feel a special connection to her, both because I had the honor of meeting her in about 1986 (and was impressed by her graciousness) and because the Montgomery Bus Boycott was resolved at about the same time I was born. Fred Shuttlesworth Rev. Shuttlesworth worked closely with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., co-founding the SCLC and organizing direct-action protests in Birmingham. I particularly admire his conviction and physical courage -- and that of his family -- in the face of repeated, deadly attacks. In fact, I considered naming my son Frederick, in honor of him! Constance Baker Motley Mrs. Motley was an NAACP attorney who handled or second-chaired many pivotal civil rights cases. I never met Judge Motley but I always wanted to meet her! I tried repeatedly (albeit unsuccessfully) to persuade her to come to Atlanta and be a featured speaker at a civil rights litigation program I chaired. I was fascinated by the role she had apparently played in prosecuting the huge mass of civil rights cases that were involved in early efforts to fulfill the promise of equal justice under law. I also wondered what it was like for her to stand in the shadow of the charismatic Thurgood Marshall. I have sometimes been in that role sometimes willingly, sometimes not so I know something about the frustrations it can involve. Who are your Juneteenth Heroes? And what are the qualities they possess that make them special to you?

A truly historic, exciting decision!

June 12th, 2020, marked the 53rd anniversary of a Supreme Court case in which the loving ties of family triumphed over bigotry: the aptly named case of Loving v. Virginia. https://www.aclu.org/issues/racial-justice/loving

A group of Lactation Consultants just moved a big step closer to being able to provide professional lactation care to the women of Georgia. The group, a non-profit organization named Reaching Our Sisters Everywhere (ROSE), brought a court action arguing that the Georgia Secretary of State had unconstitutionally limited their ability to provide lactation care and services. Trained Lactation Consultants are in short supply in many rural areas, the group reported. They argu...Continue reading

This article has a thought-provoking discussion about how to decide when and if to make exceptions to COVID quarantine, particularly around such knotty issues as whether to send your children back to school, summer camp, or daycare. The author suggests a process of: choosing the best way to frame the question; assessing whether and how you could mitigate the risk involved; trying to realistically evaluate the risk; weighing the benefits to be gained; and then deciding on your course of action. What is the right decision for your family? https://emilyoster.substack.com/p/grandparents-and-day-care