by Doug Linder (c) 2000
"The moral arc of
the universe
is long, but it bends toward justice."
--Martin
Luther King, Jr.
America needs heroes. Apart from their own achievements, heroes can inspire others to act heroically: to sacrifice bravely, to reach for greatness, or to seek justice.
The law is especially in need of heroes. Lawyers today are held in low esteem by many members of the public. They are the subject of countless jokes. Cynicism and even self-loathing are common maladies among lawyers today.
Students trained in law learn to look for ambiguity and begin to see the world in shades of gray, rather than as black or white. It is easy to begin to believe that any action can be defended and that no action is above criticism. "There is no such thing as justice," a law student might think, "only outcomes that are more or less pleasing."
The stories of law's heroes remind us that justice is real and that it matters. Their stories challenge persons with lives in law to make their own professional careers better humankind in small or large ways.
This
website is about heroes.
In
particular, it profiles individuals who have furthered the cause of
racial
justice at great cost or risk to themselves.
Clicking
on any of the five pictures to the left will bring you to a collection
of essays, images, and other materials concerning an American hero.
Profiles
of additional heroes will be added to this site over time. If you
have any comments or suggestions concerning this page, please send them
to:
linderd
@umkc.edu
Read my thoughts on the what it means to be one of law's
heroes:
For more
information on great
trials, including some trials involving the heroes featured on this
page,
jump to Famous Trials.
Law's heroes fight against injustice, prejudice, and--yes--evil. To see my new site examining the persistence of evil in our legal system today, click: "Searching for Evil"
See also: Linder, "Journeying Through the Valley of Evil," 71 North Carolina Law Review 1111 (1993).
 Lewis Tappan The early abolitionist most responsible for securing freedom for the Africans of the Amistad. |
 Charles Hamilton Houston The man whose relentless fight against Jim Crow, in cases such as Gaines v. Canada, contributed to his early death. |
 John Michael Doar The prosecutor in the "Mississippi Burning" trial who fearlessly confronted rioters, segregationist judges, and Klan members in Mississippi in the 60s.  Clarence Darrow The champion of racial justice who convinced an all-white Detroit jury to acquit Henry Sweet. |
