Civil Rights Attorney, Ben Crump, is receiving his well-deserved flowers.
Crump, 53, was recently honored by St. Thomas University in Florida, as they renamed their law school to Benjamin L. Crump College of Law. This is the first law school in the United States to honor a currently practicing Black attorney.
There was a ceremony last week to honor Ben Crump and in attendance was Will Smith. It was reported by TMZ that not only did Will Smith attend the ceremony, but he and the help of some well-known individuals raised money for the college of law. Reportedly, Will Smith, funk music legend, George Clinton, and Bishop T.D. Jakes raised $10 million for Ben’s new school. Additionally, Crump also made a $1 million monetary gift to the institution to help support the name change.
Crump posted to Instagram a video of him and Will at the naming ceremony. In the caption he stated,
“I was proud to share the stage with @willsmith – a benefactor of the groundbreaking Benjamin L. Crump College of Law at @stumiami – during the naming ceremony. It’s not an overstatement to say that lives will be changed because of the selflessness of the college’s donors”.
According to the American Bar Association, Texas Southern University’s Thurgood Marshall School of Law is the only other campus named after a Black lawyer. This honor was given after Thurgood Marshall’s death in 1993.
As many of you know, Ben Crump is known for taking on many high-profiling cases. Most recently, he’s been representing the family of Tyre Nichols, who was severely beaten by Memphis cops before his death last month.
Some other cases he is known for include: Trayvon Martin, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery.
Additionally, Crump has been dubbed “Black America’s attorney general” by civil rights activist Rev. Al Sharpton.
Congratulations Ben Crump on this amazing honor!! We appreciate all that you do!
