Still Speaking: The Words of Clarence Darrow For nearly 70 years, we have gathered annually on March 13 at the Clarence Darrow Bridge in Jackson Park for brief remarks and reflection—coming together to honor Darrow’s legacy and to ask what it continues to demand of us now. Nearly 90 years after his death, the words…
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the “Scopes Monkey Trial,” when Darrow faced off against three-time presidential candidates William Jennings Bryan in an epic battle over whether Darwin and his theory of evolution should be taught in the classroom. Please join the Clarence Darrow Commemorative Committee for the Annual Clarence Darrow Flower-tossing and Symposium…
The Darrow Commemorative Committee invites you to participate in two March events celebrating Darrow.
On Monday, March 13th, two events will explore the 125th Anniversary of the Woodworkers’ Strike and the Labor Movement today. Our annual commemoration of the life and work of Clarence Darrow this year focuses on Darrow’s 1898 defense of the organizers of woodworkers. Darrow argued that the case was a battle for human liberty, the rich…
CHICAGO — With its mission of bringing the spirit of famed attorney and social justice advocate Clarence Darrow to bear on contemporary issues, this year’s Darrow commemoration and symposium will focus on efforts to transform our criminal justice system. The annual event – now a tradition that stretches more than six decades – will be…
Ninety-five years ago – in 1926 – Clarence Darrow defended Henry Sweet, who was charged, along with 10 friends and family members, of murder after he and the others used armed self-defense against a hostile white crowd protesting after Henry’s brother Ossian, an African-American physician, and his family moved into a Detroit neighborhood. One white…
CHICAGO – With its mission of bringing the spirit of famed attorney and social justice advocate Clarence Darrow to bear on contemporary issues, this year’s Darrow commemoration and symposium will focus on the Right of Revolution speech Darrow made 125 years ago in Chicago, which might just as well have been made today. “With the…
CHICAGO – The annual Chicago tradition marking the anniversary of the death of famed Chicago attorney Clarence Darrow will mark the 95th anniversary of the Leopold-Loeb murder case, which raised profound and disturbing questions about social class, criminal psychology, morality, justice, and mercy that are still relevant and thought-provoking today. Darrow successfully defended Nathan Leopold and Richard…
The 2018 Darrow Symposium explored Darrow’s impact and relevance 80 years after his death. Nabeela Rasheed – a Pakistani, British, American, Muslim, Queer, Lawyer, Biochemist and activist, Scott Schoettes – Counsel and HIV Project Director at Lambda Legal, and Catharine O’Daniel – a criminal defense attorney and appellate lawyer, described the impact Darrow had on…
Famed attorney Clarence Darrow, inspired by his defense of Patrick Prendergast in Chicago in the 1890s, became attracted to a burgeoning populist movement. The Debs Rebellion, named for labor organizer Eugene Debs, was in full force, and Darrow began to see how judges were under the control of corporations. “The experience left him angry and…
Join us March 13th, 2016 at 10 a.m. for the annual wreath tossing and symposium to commemorate Clarence Darrow, as we explore the role of poverty and racism on incarceration, and hear a reading of Darrow’s words on the subject. This year, Hanke Gratteau, director of the Cook County Sheriff’s Justice Institute, describes today’s jail population and…
The core mission of the Clarence Darrow Commemorative Committee is to honor and commemorate the life, the work, the achievements, the tradition, the values, and the philosophy of famed Chicago lawyer Clarence Seward Darrow (1857 ‑ 1938). Particular emphasis is placed upon Mr. Darrow’s devotion to the American ideal of the universal application of the…
On the seventy-eighth anniversary of famed attorney Clarence Darrow’s death, this year’s annual Darrow symposium on Friday, March 13 explored contemporary activism on the issues of undocumented laborers and immigration. Darrow’s attitude is summarized by a quote from a 1929 debate on “Is Immigration Beneficial?” in which he said, “I am a foreigner; my people didn’t get…
On the seventy-sixth anniversary of famed attorney Clarence Darrow’s death, the annual Darrow commemoration on March 13, 2014 focused on the “The Death of the American Trial” with professor Robert P. Burns, author of a 2009 book by the same title. Despite deep snow that kept participants from gathering right at the Darrow plaque in Jackson…
On the seventy-fifth anniversary of Clarence Darrow’s death, this year’s annual Darrow commemoration on Wednesday, March 13, seeks to build a bridge between Darrow’s ideals and the social injustices of our own time. This year’s program is titled “The Bridge to Darrow” with speakers Tom Geoghegan, Juan Perea and Anita Weinberg The day begins with…
Clarence Darrow Commemorative Committee 