A resolution honoring the centennial anniversary of the National Bar Association and its Iowa co-founders.

House

Resolution

21

-

Introduced

HOUSE

RESOLUTION

NO.

21

BY

GUSTOFF

,

ANDREWS

,

JONES

,

THOMSON

,

WILBURN

,

LOHSE

,

R.

JOHNSON

,

BAGNIEWSKI

,

and

MADISON

A

Resolution

honoring

the

centennial

anniversary

of

the

1

National

Bar

Association

and

its

Iowa

co-founders.

2

WHEREAS,

in

1914,

Gertrude

Durden

Rush

graduated

3

from

Des

Moines

College

and

studied

law

under

the

4

tutelage

of

her

attorney

husband,

James

B.

Rush;

and

5

WHEREAS,

in

1918,

after

studying

at

Drake

University

6

and

LaSalle

University,

Gertrude

Durden

Rush

passed

7

the

bar

examination,

becoming

the

first

black

woman

to

8

practice

law

in

the

State

of

Iowa;

and

9

WHEREAS,

in

1924,

Gertrude

Durden

Rush

was

refused

10

membership

in

the

American

Bar

Association

because

of

11

her

race;

and

12

WHEREAS,

in

1924,

Gertrude

Durden

Rush

co-founded

13

the

Negro

Bar

Association

in

Des

Moines

with

fellow

14

Iowa

attorneys

James

B.

Morris,

Sr.,

George

H.

Woodson,

15

Charles

P.

Howard,

Sr.,

S.

Joe

Brown,

and

others;

and

16

WHEREAS,

the

Negro

Bar

Association

became

known

as

17

the

National

Bar

Association

and

was

incorporated

in

18

the

State

of

Iowa

on

August

1,

1925;

and

19

WHEREAS,

the

National

Bar

Association

has

20

carried

out

its

objectives

to

advance

the

science

of

21

jurisprudence;

improve

the

administration

of

justice;

22

preserve

the

independence

of

the

judiciary

and

to

23

uphold

the

honor

and

integrity

of

the

legal

profession;

24

to

promote

professional

and

social

intercourse

among

25

the

members

of

the

American

and

the

international

bars;

26

to

promote

legislation

that

will

improve

the

economic

27

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2

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21

condition

of

all

American

citizens,

regardless

of

1

race,

sex,

or

creed

in

their

efforts

to

secure

a

free

2

and

untrammeled

use

of

the

franchise

guaranteed

by

3

the

Constitution

of

the

United

States;

and

to

protect

4

the

civil

and

political

rights

of

the

citizens

and

5

residents

of

the

United

States;

and

6

WHEREAS,

the

National

Bar

Association

is

the

7

nation’s

oldest

and

largest

national

network

of

8

predominantly

black

attorneys

and

judges

representing

9

the

interests

of

approximately

67,000

lawyers,

judges,

10

law

professors,

and

law

students;

and

11

WHEREAS,

the

National

Bar

Association

is

organized

12

around

25

substantive

law

sections,

10

divisions,

12

13

regions,

and

80

affiliate

chapters

throughout

the

14

United

States

and

around

the

world;

and

15

WHEREAS,

notable

members

include

Charles

Hamilton

16

Houston,

Thurgood

Marshall,

Constance

Baker

Motley,

and

17

Johnnie

Cochran;

and

18

WHEREAS,

current

members

of

the

National

Bar

19

Association

work

in

and

hold

leadership

positions

20

in

Fortune

500

companies,

law

firms

of

all

sizes,

21

impactful

public

interest

agencies,

state

and

federal

22

governments,

and

leading

academic

institutions;

NOW

23

THEREFORE,

24

BE

IT

RESOLVED

BY

THE

HOUSE

OF

REPRESENTATIVES,

25

That

the

House

of

Representatives

honors

and

thanks

26

the

National

Bar

Association

for

100

years

of

service

27

to

the

state

and

legal

community,

and

honors

and

28

recognizes

the

Iowans

who

helped

found

the

National

Bar

29

Association.

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