ACLU National Racial Justice Director to Keynote Bill of Rights Dinner

July 24, 2014
DENVER – The ACLU of Colorado is excited to announce that Dennis Parker, Director of the ACLU National Racial Justice Program (RJP), will be the featured speaker at the Annual Carle Whitehead Bill of Rights Dinner on Friday, October 17th at The Four Seasons Hotel in downtown Denver.
With its focus on racial profiling, affirmative action, indigent representation, felon enfranchisement issues, and the school-to-prison pipeline which funnels children of color from the educational system into the criminal justice system, the RJP seeks to remove barriers to equal opportunity for communities of color through litigation, public education, community organizing and legislation.
Prior to joining the ACLU, Mr. Parker was the Chief of the Civil Rights Bureau of the Office of the New York State Attorney. He also worked for fourteen years at the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund litigating scores of cases involving elementary and secondary education, affirmative action in higher education and equal educational opportunity. Other positions included work at the employment firm of Vladeck, Waldman, Elias and Engelhardt and the New York Legal Aid Society, Criminal Defense Division in Brooklyn, New York.
Mr. Parker lectures extensively on civil rights issues and is an adjunct professor at New York Law School. He is a graduate of Middlebury College and Harvard Law School.
At the Carle Whitehead Bill of Rights Dinner, the ACLU of Colorado will honor the late Dr. Vincent Harding, a nationally-recognized civil rights leader whose work as a writer, a teacher, and a champion of civil liberties inspired generations of students and advocates.
Laura Rovner will also be honored at the event for her outstanding legal work as the Director of the University of Denver’s Civil Rights Law Clinic, and Bob Connelly will be recognized for his many years of service and dedication as a board member of the ACLU of Colorado.
For more information about the event, purchasing tickets, or becoming a sponsor, please contact Rachel Pryor-Lease at 720-402-3105 or [email protected].