A two-day symposium to commemorate and study Brown vs. The Board of Education will be held on the campus of Wayne State March 24-25, 2004 in the Spencer M. Partrich Auditorium in the WSU Law School.

On Wednesday, March 24th, ABA President and former mayor Dennis Archer will lead a workshop for high school students from 1 p.m. - 3 p.m. Archer will facilitate a dialogue about the Brown decision with thirty metro Detroit students and their parents.

"We are honored to host this symposium to commemorate the historic Brown vs. the Board of Education decision with such a distinguished group of scholars," said President Irvin D. Reid, "And we are pleased that so many young people will participate and study the decision that has meant so much to public education in our country."

The keynote address, by Charles J. Ogletree, Jr. Jesse Climenko Professor of Law, Harvard Law School, entitled "All Deliberate Speed: Reflections on the first Half-Century of Brown V. Board of Education," will follow on Wednesday evening at 7:30.

Thursday, March 25th, the symposium, also held in the Partrich Auditorium, will run from 8:15 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. The conference will examine topics such as Brown in the historical context, the impact of Brown on public education and desegregation, the lawyer's role in implementing the decision and how the decision shaped American culture.

Speakers include the Honorable Damon J. Keith, United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit; David A. Collins, National Law Day Chair, ABA; Michal R. Belknap, professor of Law, California Western School of Law; William T. Trent, professor of Education and professor of Sociology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Peter Irons, professor of Political Science and Director of the Earl Warren Bill of Rights Project, University of California at San Diego; Robert Sedler, distinguished professor of Law WSU; and Annette Gordon-Reed, professor of Law, New York University Law School; Steven L. Winter, Walter S. Gibbs Professor of Constitutional Law; and Roger Wilkins, Clarence J. Robinson Professor of History and American Culture, George Mason University.

For more information call (313) 577-3933.

Wayne State University is a premier institution offering more than 350 academic programs through 13 schools and colleges to more than 33,000 students.