NORFOLK, Va. (AP) - Descendants of judges and plaintiffs in two landmark U.S. Supreme Court cases will participate in a panel discussion in Virginia on how some U.S. laws have fostered discrimination.
"Dred Scott Presents: Sons and Daughters of Reconciliation" will take place Jan. 21 at Norfolk State University. The program is being held in honor of the National Day of Racial Healing.
Among the panelists scheduled to speak are: Lynne Jackson, the great-, great-granddaughter of Dred Scott, the slave who sued for his freedom in 1857, and Charles Taney IV, the great-great-great-nephew of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Roger Brooke Taney, who wrote the decision denying Scott his freedom.
Also participating will be: Keith Plessy, whose great-grandfather was a cousin of Homer Plessy, who challenged separate accommodations for black and white railroad passengers in 1892; and Phoebe Ferguson, the great-great-granddaughter of Louisiana Judge John Howard Ferguson, who ruled against Homer Plessy.
The discussion will be moderated by University of Richmond school of Law professor Henry Chambers Jr. Chambers is also a member of the Governor's Commission to Examine Racial Inequity in Virginia law.
The event is sponsored by the Hampton Roads Community Foundation.
Published: Mon, Jan 13, 2020
