Law Day 2019
By Melody Z. Richardson
Richardson Bloom & Lines, LLC
[email protected]
For many years, the Atlanta Bar As-
sociation Law Day Committee has
partnered with the Fulton County
Courts Law Day Committee to
present a program celebrating Law
Day. This program also reminds our
community that no one is above the
obligations of the law or beneath
its protections. This year, the Gate
City Bar Association joined the
Atlanta Bar Committee and the
Fulton County Committee to de-
sign and implement two ambitious
programs:
#MyWordsMatter Youth Summit
The first program, a youth summit
named #MyWordsMatter, occurred
at the State Bar of Georgia Atlanta
headquarters on April 9, 2019. The
Honorable Gail S. Tusan, honor-
ary chair of the 2019 Law Day
Committee, worked tirelessly to
put together a program and train
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April/May 2019
facilitators to interact with high
school students throughout Fulton
County. The morning started with
a Law Day version of Who Wants
to be a Millionaire, where prizes
were awarded to students who cor-
rectly answered First Amendment
questions.
The students then engaged in dis-
cussions facilitated by attorneys
and other volunteers about the
responsibilities inherent in free
speech. Small groups of students
were encouraged to share their
thoughts on free speech, implicit
bias and stereotypes. The vol-
unteers also helped the students
explore their power to influence
others through social media and to
use their free speech responsibly. A
brief video of how the students re-
acted to the program can be found
on YouTube at this link: https://
youtu.be/soKMSEss3Es
Law Day Ceremony
The youth summit was followed
on May 1, 2019, by a Law Day
Ceremony which was open to the
public. The highlight of the Law Day
Ceremony was a panel discussion
with Ashley Fantz, a CNN inves-
tigative reporter, and photojour-
nalist Melissa Golden. Fantz and
Golden shared their experiences
as journalists and discussed the
importance of a free press in a
democratic society.