LBJ and the Struggle for Civil Rights

Overview

The years 2014-2015 have marked the fiftieth anniversary of the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act, and President Lyndon Johnson’s pivotal leadership in bringing those two landmark pieces of legislation to fruition.

The celebration of these key pieces of legislation has been tarnished by the recent Academy Award nominated movie ‘Selma,” which received an outpouring of criticism from a wide variety of sources for its having depicted LBJ’s contributions to the Civil Rights movement in an unflattering light.

Mark Updegrove, Director of the LBJ Library in Austin and the author of Indomitable Will: LBJ in the Presidency (Crown Publishers 2012), has been a key figure since the “Selma” film’s controversy arose, in making sure that the history of LBJ’s role in advancing civil rights in America is preserved and not distorted. Mark assembled and executed the Civil Rights conference in 2014 at the LBJ Library, which was attended by four American Presidents, as well as key civil rights leaders and historians. 

At the luncheon, Mark will discuss "LBJ and the Struggle for Civil Rights" during an onstage interview moderated by Dallas lawyer and historian Talmage Boston.

About the Higginbotham Lecture Series

The Higginbotham Lecture Series was created in 2013 as a tribute to Judge Patrick E. Higginbotham, thanking him for the twelve years he spent at the helm of The Center for American and International Law’s (CAIL) Board of Trustees.

The Series provides meaningful commentary on current trends pertaining to the rule of law and brings together the biggest legal names for education and discussion. It also raises much-needed funds and awareness for CAIL.

Since its inception, the event has attracted over 700 attendees from the legal, business and judicial community.

The CAIL Award for Achievement in the Pursuit of Justice for All

This year we are pleased to announce the new CAIL Award for Achievement in the Pursuit of Justice for All. This Award will be given to an individual or group whose life/lives and work embodies CAIL’s commitment to the rule of law. Just as CAIL is an international organization, the Award is not limited to people of one country or one region. Just as CAIL, through its lawyer and law enforcement programs, addresses the needs of the entire justice system, the Award may be presented to anyone who is part of that system.

In choosing the recipient, the Executive Committee will be guided by the candidate’s leadership, vision, courage and impact. Recognizing that, at its best, the justice system levels the playing field and provides access, protection and relief to all persons, the Award is intended for those whose work has most effectively promoted justice.

James E. (Jim) Coleman, Jr. has been selected as the 2015 Honoree and will be accepting his Award at the event on June 2.

About the Speakers

Mark K. Updegrove is the director of the LBJ Presidential Library in Austin, Texas, where, in April 2014, he hosted the Civil Rights Summit which included addresses by President Barack Obama and former Presidents Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush.

He is the author of Indomitable Will: LBJ in the Presidency (2012), Baptism by Fire: Eight Presidents Who Took Office During Times of Crisis (2009), and Second Acts: Presidential Lives and Legacies After the White House (2006). He has conducted exclusive interviews with five U.S. Presidents.

His latest book Destiny of Democracy: The Civil Rights Summit at the LBJ Presidential Library was published in February. Currently, Updegrove is working on an authorized book on the relationship between Presidents George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush.

Talmage Boston has practiced law as a commercial trial and appellate litigator in Dallas, Texas, since 1978. He has been board certified in Civil Trial Law since 1988, as well as board certified in Civil Appellate Law since 1990, by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Since 1997, he’s been a shareholder at Winstead PC. He has been recognized in Texas Monthly as a “Texas Super Lawyer” every year since 2003.  He has also been recognized among the "Best Lawyers in America," and "Top 100 Attorneys in Dallas/Fort Worth Region."

A leader of both the State Bar of Texas and the Dallas Bar Association, Talmage has served as a State Bar of Texas director, as well as chair of the State Bar Litigation Section, Council of Chairs, and Annual Meeting Planning Committee.  He has also served as the Dallas Bar Association advisory director and chair of the Dallas Bar’s Business Litigation Section.  For his service, he received Presidential Citations from State Bar of Texas presidents every year from 2005 to 2011, and from the Dallas Bar Association president in 2009.

In addition to maintaining his full-time law practice, Talmage has written Raising the Bar: The Crucial Role of the Lawyer in Society (TexasBarBooks 2012), which includes a foreward by Dick Thornburgh, former Attorney General of the United States under Presidents Reagan and Bush, and dust jacket endorsements from former U.S. Secretary of State James A. Baker III; former Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson; CNN Legal Analyst Jeffrey Toobin; Baylor University President Ken Starr; and lawyer turned best-selling novelist Richard North Patterson.

Talmage has also written two critically acclaimed baseball history books, 1939: Baseball’s Tipping Point (foreword by John Grisham, Bright Sky Press, 2005) and Baseball and the Baby Boomer (foreword by Frank DeFord, Bright Sky Press, 2009), and has been inducted into the Texas Baseball Hall of Fame as a Media Member.

In recent years, Talmage has become one of the best known onstage public interviewers in Dallas, conducting interviews in front of large audiences with the likes of Henry Kissinger, David McCullough, Michael Lewis, Ken Burns, Douglas Brinkley, Jeffrey Toobin, Richard North Patterson, Frank Deford, and Tom Seaver.

Talmage’s articles and editorials on legal issues have appeared in The National Law Journal, Texas Lawyer, Dallas Morning News, and Dallas Business Journal.

Talmage and his wife Claire live in Dallas, Texas, and have a son and a daughter.

Registration Options

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• Silver Sponsor $5,000
• One (1) table of ten (10) at the Lecture, priority seating
• Recognition on invitations, programs, event signage, slideshow during lunch and website
• Invitations for ten (10) to attend the VIP reception immediately preceding the luncheon
• Bronze Sponsor $1,500
• One (1) table of ten (10) at the Lecture
• Recognition on appropriate materials

Event Sponsors

• Valet Parking Sponsor - $7,500 (One available)
• One (1) table of ten (10) at the Lecture, priority seating
• Sponsor listing displayed prominently at the valet stand
• Opportunity to provide branded favor/collateral for guests to receive upon collecting their car
• Recognition on table number cards (one per guest)
• Recognition as Valet Parking Sponsor on invitations, programs, slideshow during lunch and website
• Invitations for ten (10) to attend the VIP reception immediately preceding the luncheon
• One (1) half-page ad in the event program. (Ad specifications: 5.5" (w) by 4.25" (h), full color, camera ready file in a high res. .eps format)
• Centerpiece Sponsor - $5,000 (One available)
• One (1) table of ten (10) at the Lecture, priority seating
• Sponsor listing displayed at each table
• Recognition as Centerpiece Sponsor on invitations, programs, event signage, slideshow during lunch and website
• Registration Sponsor - $5,000 (SOLD)
• One (1) table of ten (10) at the Lecture, priority seating
• Sponsor listing displayed prominently at the registration desk
• Recognition on table number cards (one per guest)
• Recognition as Registration Sponsor on invitations, programs, slideshow during lunch and website

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