On Wednesday (Feb. 8), Benjamin Crump became the first Black practicing attorney to have a law school named after him. The College of Law at St. Thomas University in Miami, Florida is now the Benjamin L. Crump College of Law.
“The naming of the Benjamin L. Crump College of Law at St. Thomas University is the latest step in an effort to encourage bridge-building among the legal profession, law enforcement, and our communities,” David A. Armstrong, J.D., president of St. Thomas University said in a press release. “Ben and I couldn’t be more different politically, but we share a passion for justice, and the hope that by working together, we can continue to drive meaningful change. Our faith in God and our belief in the tenets laid out by our founding fathers in the U.S. Constitution, enable us to go beyond race and politics, and focus on the work necessary to truly make the United States the home of the free and the brave.”
“It is a privilege to be a part of the St. Thomas University legacy through the Benjamin L. Crump College of Law. We have come such a long way in the journey to equality, but we are not there yet,” Crump added. “The future change makers and civil justice leaders that will matriculate from St. Thomas will soon be passed the torch from today’s civil rights icons, and I have every confidence that they will meet the moment.”
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The only other law school in the country to be named after a Black attorney is the Thurgood Marshall School of Law at Texas Southern University. Crump is known as “Black America’s attorney general.” He has fought hard and represented in major social justice cases for the families of Trayvon Martin, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Jacob Blake, Tyre Nichols, and more.