The University of Kentucky observed the 50th anniversary of the state's civil rights law with a day-long symposium in the College of Law. Dean David Brennen told WUKY it was an opportunity to simultaneously look back and ahead.
"We have panels about looking at what things were like before the Civil Rights Act was enacted but also looking at the progress we've made in past fifty years," Brennan said. "We were the first of the southern states to enact (it), and so there's a lot to be learned by looking at our progress over the past fifty years. And after that, we want to look forward to see where we have to go and where the issues are in talking about healthcare, talking about things that are important to people that have a civil rights connection," Brennen explained.
The event, co-sponsored by the Kentucky Commission on Human Rights, featured remarks from Kentucky Supreme Court Justice John Minton, Attorney General Andy Beshear, Lieutenant Governor Jenean Hampton, and Patricia Timmons-Goodson, vice chair of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. Following her talk, Ms.Timmons-Goodson was made an honorary Kentucky Colonel.
