This panel represents the first time that the children of these legal giants gather together as a group to reflect upon
their parents. They each share their experience of being a descendant of these "great warriors."
Karen Hastie Williams, the daughter of William Henry Hastie (1904-1976), was only nine years old when Brown was handed
down, but because her father had worked so closely with Thurgood Marshall, she saw him as a giant. He became a giant as a mentor and
role model, as well. "The legacy to me, I guess, and to my family, is the critical importance that Thurgood and the NAACP Legal Defense
Fund played in creating this area of the law that we take for granted today, and that’s public interest law…. The area of public interest
law has become such an important part of the fabric of this country." States Williams, commitment to public service is a lasting legacy
of Brown.
John Carter, son of the Honorable Robert L. Carter, remembers going to Washington with his parents when he was nine and
watching his father argue a case at the Supreme Court, NAACP v. Alabama. "Just having the opportunity to be in the house with
people like Thurgood Marshall and George Motley and Oliver Hill and Frank Reeves is really the reason why I became a lawyer." Feeling
that the Supreme Court always made the right decisions and stood for the principles of America made him realize that he wanted to "do
this noble thing" and practice law.
Oliver Hill, Jr., is the son of Oliver White Hill, Esquire. Mr. Hill recalls that the Brown lawyers stayed at their house,
and that there were always charged conversations going on. "I was young, but you could tell that something very important was
happening." He grew up in Richmond in the segregated South, lived in an all-black world for most of his younger life, and because of his
father’s work, he was one of the first children to integrate Richmond's public schools. Between 7th and 12th grades, the intended effect
of Brown was working. "For a time, there was a critical mass of black and white students who were together. And at first we knew nothing
about each other, but by the time we went through Junior High School and High School, we had come to appreciate each other as human
beings." Mr. Hill believes that today’s legal talent should force more of these changes to happen, and the Federal government must also
play a role in effecting change.
Joe Motley is the son of the Honorable Constance Baker Motley, one of the few women involved with Brown. "One of the
things that one learns, having had the opportunity to see this up close, is that this was not a foregone conclusion…. In the 1950s, it
wasn’t clear that all of this was going to work out." One observation that his mother made is that "[w]hatever you do, you have to have a
cause.… Because if you don’t have a cause, you don’t have any intellectual life." He has found that to be particularly strengthening
because it brings focus and worth to one’s intellectual life.
John Marshall, son of Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, grew up as teenager in Northern Virginia. Marshall
describes an anecdote in which his father brought him law books instead of a mini-bike that he had wanted. What he remembers most about
his father are words that he used during the press conference covering his retirement in 1991. Thurgood Marshall had been asked how he
would like to be remembered, and he simply replied: "That I did the best I could with what I had." These are the principles with which
he raised his children.
Charles Hamilton Houston, Jr., is the son of Charles Hamilton Houston (1895-1950). Although Charles Hamilton Houston, Jr.,
was only six when his father died, the man remained a "mythic figure" in his son’s life. "He was an idealist, and someone who believed
in the possibility of this country." His father unstintingly fought to make this a better world for his son to grow up in. He closes by
emphasizing the reasons for his father’s endless work: "What my father died for, what he gave his life for, was… for everyone else to
have a choice. I’m very grateful my father did succeed in making this a better world for me to live in. It’s not a perfect world, but he
did not struggle and give his life in vain."
Charles Hamilton III is the grandson of Charles Hamilton Houston (1895-1950), but never knew his grandfather. In fact, he
states, growing up in Texas left him disconnected from the Houston legacy. After law school, he had the opportunity to clerk with Judge
Damon Keith, and he reflects "during my two years with Mr. Keith, I really began to see and understand the impact that my grandfather
had on society as a whole and on the law in particular." Looking at the other panel members, Charles Hamilton III recognizes, "My
grandfather inspired and taught the people on this panel in the same way that they’ve inspired and taught me."
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