Wednesday, February 2, 2011

RSVP By Feb. 11 For BSU Hall Of Black Achievement Celebration

BrocktonPost
Brockton--Bridgewater State University will hold its 23rd annual Hall of Black Achievement Heritage Celebration on Saturday, Feb. 26, from 5 to 9:30 p.m. in the East Campus Commons.
The event will include a reception hour, dinner, the induction of this year's Hall of Black Achievement honorees, and the presentations of the Mary Hudson Onley Achievement Award and the Sarah Lewis Social Justice Award. Student Achiever Awards will be presented to ten BSU students, as well as students from other state institutions.
This year's Hall of Black Achievement inductees are George Lewis Ruffin and Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin. (Pictured above)
The recipient of the Mary Hudson Onley Award is Harvard Professor Charles Ogletree. (Pictured at right)
Tickets are $30 for adults, and $15 for students.
Payment must be received to secure seating. Please RSVP by Feb. 11. Credit cards will not be accepted. Black tie optional.
East Campus Commons is located at 125 Burrill Ave.
In the event of inclement weather, please call 508-531-1777 for weather-related information. Please contact Donna Wood at 508-531-1429 or donna.wood@bridgew.edu for tickets or more information.
Bio info for Josephine and George Ruffin:
Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin was born in Boston in 1842 and devoted her life to the rights of African-American women. She assisted in the formation of the American Woman Suffrage Association in 1869. While committed to the rights of all women, Mrs. Ruffin worked zealously to address the double jeopardy of racism and sexism experienced by women of color.
She organized the National Federation of Afro-American Women, convening the first national conference in Boston, and assisted with the establishment of the NAACP in 1910. Mrs. Ruffin, a member of The New England Women’s Press Association, became the first African-American woman to publish a newspaper, The Woman’s Era, which focused on the rights and achievements of black women. The League of Women for Community Service, a Boston group she helped co-found in 1918, is still active today assisting families in need in larger black communities.
George Lewis Ruffin: First African American to Graduate Harvard Law School; First African American to serve as a judge in Boston.
George Lewis Ruffin was born in Richmond, Virginia in 1836. He moved with his family to Boston in 1853 to protest Virginia’s ban on African Americans learning to read. After finishing school, Mr. Ruffin worked in a barbershop while he studied law. He graduated from Harvard Law School with the distinction of being the first black graduate of a law school in the United States. He was one of the first African Americans to be admitted to the Massachusetts bar, and he became the first African-American judge in Massachusetts. Mr. Ruffin was elected to the House of Representatives and served on the Common Council.
In addition to his successful legal career, Mr. Ruffin and his wife, Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin, were active in the fight against slavery and the struggle for justice. In celebration of his work and life, the Justice George Lewis Ruffin Society was founded in 1984, and supports minority professionals in the Massachusetts criminal justice system.
Charles J. Ogletree is Jesse Climenko Professor at Harvard Law School, the founder of the school's Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice, and remains a supporter and mentor to President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama since both the President and First Lady attended Ogletree's classes at Harvard.
(Photos above of George Ruffion and Ogletree courtesy of Harvard Law School, Harvard Law School Art Collection. Photo of Josephine Ruffin courtesy of Trustees of Brockton Public Library)

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