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WHAT IS THE NBA?

The National Bar Association is a professional organization whose programs and involvements are directed at representing the interests of its membership and the communities they serve. Celebrating its 52nd anniversary in 1977, the NBA continues to expand its memberships and services. The NBA network numbers over 7,000 minority attorneys and members of the judiciary, law students, and law faculty, as well as approximately 33 affiliate chapters in ten regional areas throughout the continental United States and the Virgin Islands.

Consistent with its goal of advancing the science of jurisprudence and protecting the civil and political rights of all citizens, the NBA has sponsored numerous continuing legal education seminars in strategic cities throughout the United States on topics of fair housing, commercial law and the litigation of an employment discrimination suit.

In the past, we have involved ourselves in the following:

-The NBA responded swiftly and decisively to the threat posed by the Mississippi judgement against the NAACP. The NBA made a $5,000 donation to the NAACP Special Contributions Fund; and, in addition, made available the legal expertise of its members in review of the court documents on appeal.

-The NBA publicly denounced capital punishment in principle as an act against human decency. The Association remains committed to the abolition of this atavistic form of retribution and is working toward this goal with a coalition of like-minded national organizations.

-The NBA has initiated an action program in response to the Bakke vs Regents of the University of California case and the attack on affirmative action and special admissions programs represented by this case. The NBA filed an amicus curiae brief in support of affirmative action and special admission programs

-The NBA, through its official recognition by the U.S. Justice Department as a participant in the selection process of federal judges, has worked to ensure an adequate minority representation on the federal benches throughout the nation.

The National Bar Association represents the interests of Black attorneys across the country. Through its various activities, the NBA attempts to increase the professional standing and capabilities of its members by promoting greater knowledge of the law and improving their practices and procedures. The Association offers continuing education programs, conducts research programs and works to maintain the highest standards of competence and ethics.

The Association firmly believes that the delivery of quality legal services, particularly to minorities and the disadvantaged, is essential to maintaining the idea of equal protection and due process under the law. The Association endeavors continually to see that the American Dream of Justice and Equality become a reality.

HISTORY
The first quarter of the 20th century beegot a unified group of lawmakers whose mutual interest in and dedication to justice and civil rights helped to structure the struggle of the Black race in America. The National Bar Association formally organized in Des Moines, Iowa in 1925. It was conceived by such legal pioneers as George H. Woodson, S. Joe Brown, Gertrude E. Rush, James B. Morris, Charles P. Howard, Sr., Wendell E. Green, C. Francis Stradford, Jesse N. Baker, William H. Haynes, George C. Adams, Charles H Calloway and L. Amasa Knox.

In defense of the Constitution of the United States, the members of the NBA made strategic efforts to legally represent all citizens. However, this predominantly Black group, recognizing the challenges they faced with exclusion, jim crow, hatred, and hostility, began a system of legal practice unique in the annals of world jurisprudence. These lawyers recognized the need for a cohesive body of legal minds that could withstand the pressures to fight cases against race discrimination and they sought to find leaders committed to uphold and to argue for justice under the Constitution of the United States.

Shortly after its 25th anniversary, the National Bar Association had an opportunity to demonstrate the fortitude and stamina exemplified by its founders. The Supreme Court outlawed segregation in public schools in Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954). The decision was the culmination of a long struggle by Black lawyers, and was a dream come true. Thurgood Marshall, the first Black Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, and Constance B. Motley, the first Black woman federal judge, are two of the many notable attorneys who were active in helping Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka become a landmark case.

Many of the significant gains toward the realization of the goal of first class citizenship for all Americans—equalization of teachers salaries, freedom from discrimination in education and in the use of transportation facilities, protection of seniority rights in labor unions, the right to vote, the right to live in the neighborhood of one's

53rd ANNUAL MEETING and EXHIBIT

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