WSU to honor civil rights activist Viola Gregg Liuzzo April 10
Civil rights activist and Wayne State University student Viola Gregg Liuzzo will be posthumously honored at 1:30 p.m. Friday, April 10, in the Spencer Partrich Auditorium at Wayne State with an honorary doctor of laws degree for her contributions to society. It will be the first honorary degree awarded posthumously in the university’s history.
The honor comes 50 years after Liuzzo, a mother of five, was killed in Selma, Alabama, after answering the call from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. for volunteers to assist with voting rights demonstrations. At the time of her death, Liuzzo was studying nursing at Wayne State.
Liuzzo’s family members will travel from around the country to attend the ceremony and accept the award on her behalf.
Wayne State President M. Roy Wilson and the Wayne State Board of Governors extended the invitation to her family in recognition of the tremendous impact Liuzzo’s actions had on moving the struggle for civil rights forward.
The honorary degree ceremony will be followed by the dedication of a tree or green space in the Law School courtyard as a permanent and living remembrance of Liuzzo’s contributions and sacrifice.
As a child, Liuzzo witnessed firsthand the injustice and discrimination African Americans faced in the South. As an adult, she joined the fight for equality because, as she told her husband before leaving for Selma, “It’s everybody’s fight.”
Liuzzo would have turned 90 years old on April 11, had she lived.
Morris Dees, co-founder and chief trial counsel for the Southern Poverty Law Center, will speak about Liuzzo on Monday, April 13, in the annual Dean Robb Public Interest Lecture. The lecture, named for longtime activist, civil rights attorney and Wayne Law alumnus Dean A. Robb, is intended to inspire law students, attorneys, public interest groups and citizens to become more active in public service and public interest law. His talk is titled, “With Justice for All in a Changing America.”
Last Chance Jury Service Process
Those who were called and failed to appear for jury service within the last 12 months have 14 days before the Third Circuit Court mails out show cause orders.
Those who have failed to appear for jury service and want to avoid show cause must call by the end of business on Friday, March 13, 2015 to request a new jury service date and avoid the risk of receiving a show cause order.
Jurors who are ordered to appear for show cause face the possibility of penalties, fines, and jail.
To request a new jury service date, call (313) 224-2590 or (313) 224-5650 and state you want to participate in the Last Chance Jury Service Process.
“Jury service is the purest form of government because jurors are not subject to political considerations or contributions, but rather decide the case based upon the evidence. Jurors represent the thinking of the community. It is a service that should command the pride and pleasure of every citizen and should not be avoided." Chief Judge Robert J. Colombo, Jr.
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