The Trials of Constance Baker Motley: A Centennial Retrospective
SEPTEMBER 21, 2021, 5:00 PM TO 7:00 PM (EASTERN DAYLIGHT TIME)
September 14, 2021 marks what would have been the 100th birthday of Judge Constance Baker Motley. In this inaugural series event for the 2021-2022 bar year, we are celebrating the life and legacy of Judge Motley. We will start with a screening of The Trials of Constance Baker Motley, a 2015 documentary produced by her son, Joel Motley. The documentary spans her remarkable legal career, including, but not limited to, her work with Justice Thurgood Marshall and the NAACP and her landmark civil rights cases before the US Supreme Court, as well as her accomplishments as the first African-American woman elected to the New York State Senate, the first woman elected as Manhattan Borough president, and the first African-American woman appointed to the federal bench. The documentary will be followed by a discussion and reflection on Judge Motley with her son Joel W. Motley, niece Constance L. Royster, and former law clerk Daniel J. Steinbock.
