Crump Inducted as President of the National Bar Association
Genae, Brooklyn and Ben Crump celebrated during the convention when he was inducted as president of the National Bar Association.
By Angeline J. Taylor
Executive Editor
Tallahassee resident Benjamin Crump, renowned civil rights attorney and co-founder of local law firm Parks & Crump, was inducted into the National Bar Association on July 23 in Los Angeles as the organization’s 73rd president.
Crump — who has made international headlines in representing the families of Trayvon Martin, Martin Lee Anderson and Kendrick Johnson — won the election for president in 2014 when he defeated his opponent with 72 percent of the vote.
To be inducted, Crump said was “very special because the National Bar Association has given so much to me and other black lawyers. It’s with a great debt of gratitude that I accept the position as president. And, it’s very humbling.”
The National Bar Association is considered the nation’s oldest and largest organization of African-American lawyers and judges. It was founded in 1925 and has 25,000 members. Crump, however, said that he seeks to make a positive difference in the lives of 66,000 Black trial, government, environment, corporate or criminal lawyers throughout the country and around the world.
“I want to make sure we address the concerns, issues and the opportunities of all Black lawyers,” Crump said shortly after he was inducted as president.
Crump is a graduate of Florida State University College of Law and a member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. According to the National Bar Association’s website, Crump has been recognized as one of the National Trial Lawyers Top 100 Lawyers, Ebony Magazine’s Power 100 Most Influential African Americans and he was named the NAACP Thurgood Marshall Award and the SCLC Martin Luther King Servant Leader of the Year.
Having Crump in his new role, “means a great deal to the profession at large because he is such an accomplished litigator and civil rights leader,” said G.C. Murray, president of the Tallahassee Barristers Association.
The Tallahassee Barristers supported Crump in his bid to become president.
Murray added, “It also brings the Tallahassee Barristers a great sense of pride to see one of our members rise to that office. This exposure that Tallahassee is gleaning from his presidency allows us to showcase the capital city. This city is a great place for the practice of law and his firm’s growth is proof positive of that fact.”
In addition to representing Trayvon Martin’s family, Crump also represents the families of Michael Brown and Tamir Rice. Brown was killed by a police officer in Ferguson, Mo., and Rice, a 12-year-old was also shot by a police officer.
Crump and law partner Daryl Parks have endowed scholarships at Florida A&M University, Livingston College and Florida State University for minority law students, according to the National Bar Association. The law firm of Parks & Crump practices in the areas of: wrongful death, medical malpractice, product liability, personal injury, nursing home negligence and civil rights.
