Washington, D.C. - "It’s extremely critical that the pipeline for lawyers of color be increased by the National Bar Association," says Bob Carr, Executive Director of the association. In keeping with that commitment, the National Bar Association (NBA) sponsored its 10th annual Crump Law Camp in Washington, DC from July 11th to July 24th.
The Law Camp is designed to provide high school students, aged 14 to 17, with an enjoyable and comprehensive introduction to the challenges of a legal education. It has attracted student applicants throughout the United States from diverse backgrounds. More than 1,700 applications were submitted for this year’s camp. From that large group, 38 students were accepted, including applicants from the U.S. Virgin Islands and Doha, Qatar. Since its inception in 2001, the two-week residential camp has graduated nearly 300 youth.
Since only 3.9 percent of the nation’s lawyers are people of color, the goal of the Crump Law Camp is to encourage young students of color to attend college and law school. The NBA’s partnership with Howard University School of Law reflects the school’s mission of cultivating lawyers who will positively impact communities across the nation and the legal profession. According to the NBA’s Executive Director Emeritus, and founder of the camp, John Crump, "If America is to become a true melting pot, the legal system must lead the way. This can be done only when diverse groups of people bring their cultural, ethnic, and social backgrounds into the equation. Therefore, although the camp has an open enrollment policy and is available to all students, its emphasis is on empowering students of color."
Participants were housed on the campus of Howard University and attended law school classes at the Howard University School of Law. The curriculum included guest lectures, field trips, a BMW Teen Driving School and a mock trial competition. The camp’s faculty and staff were comprised of members of the Howard University School of Law community, National Bar Association, guest lecturers, law students, and college graduates. The Law Camp’s director, Ruby J. Sherrod, referred to the campers as "Young advocates. The program is a great opportunity to influence young people to get serious about school and to set goals toward completing college."
The highlight of the academic component was the Evett L. Simmons Mock Trial Competition. All 38 campers participated in the competition with the "Final Four" scheduled to compete at the NBA’s Annual Convention in New Orleans, LA during the week of August 9, 2010.
The Mock Trail finalists were Junius Williams, 14, from Newark, NJ; Kristen Lee, 15, Detroit, MI; Takiyah Harrell, 16, Brooklyn, NY and Deana Hamlin, 16, from Stafford, VA.
In 2003, the Crump Law Camp received the American Bar Association’s Partnership Award for exemplary efforts of a bar association to increase diversity in the legal profession.
