The 31st annual Judge Frank M. Coffin Lecture on Law and Public Service was presented by Dennis Parker, Executive Director of National Center for Law and Economic Justice on March 6, 2024. His talk was titled, “Brown vs. Board of Education: How Far Have We Come, How Far Do We Have To Go“.
Dennis D. Parker is the executive director of the National Center for Law and Economic Justice (“NCLEJ”). NCLEJ seeks to assure access to government benefits program, housing, health care, nutrition, and employment and to challenge discrimination based on race, disability, gender, and immigration status. Previously, Dennis served as the director of the Racial Justice Program of the ACLU, as the Chief of the Civil Rights Bureau of the New York Attorney General’s office and, before that, worked on and directed the educational work of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund. Dennis began his legal career as a staff attorney in the Criminal Defense Division of the New York Legal Aid Society. He has co-authored or contributed chapters to books and articles dealing with civil rights and has lectured extensively across the country. He is an adjunct professor at Teachers College of Columbia University and New York University Law School. Dennis is a graduate of Harvard Law School and Middlebury College.
The Judge Frank M. Coffin Lecture on Law and Public Service honors the late Judge Frank M. Coffin, longtime federal judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, former member of Congress, renowned leader and mentor in public service, and beloved friend of the University of Maine School of Law. The Lecture is presented annually by a distinguished speaker.
