Total Credits: 2.2 MCLE, 2.2 Ethics, 2.2 Elimination of Bias, 2.0 Kansas Credit-General, 2.0 Kansas Ethics
Sponsored by MoBarCLE & The Missouri Bar Young Lawyers' Section
6:00 – 6:30 PM | Reception
6:30 – 7:30 PM | Film Presentation The Milly Project (2021)
7:30 – 7:40 PM | Break
7:40 – 8:30 PM | Panel Discussion
Attendees must stay for the discussion to received credit for watching the movie.
Film Trailer: https://www.facebook.com/TheMillyTour/videos/the-milly-project-trailer/352349953325168/
“The Milly Project,” tells the story of an enslaved woman named Milly Sawyers who fought for and won her freedom in Springfield, Missouri before the Civil War. This film adaptation of the original play is written and directed by Kendra Chappell and details the many trials and tribulations of Sawyers, as taken from handwritten court manuscripts, only recently uncovered by local archivists. The Play continues to be shown across the State, and now the film seeks to widen the reach of Sawyers’ story. In 2021, The Milly Project was nominated for 3 awards at the New York International Film Festival, including Best Screenplay (Winner), Best Social Justice Film (Winner), and Best Acting Ensemble.
| Milly Project Premiere Written Materials (6.4 MB) | Available after Purchase | ||
| MOLAP Information (210.1 KB) | Available after Purchase | ||
Belinda Dantley is the Dean for Diversity Equity and Inclusion at Saint Louis University School of Law. Belinda received her B.A. from Temple University and her J.D. from Saint Louis University School of Law. She is happy to work in a place that helped her grow as a lawyer and is excited to help students do the same. Belinda is dedicated to creating and fostering spaces for inclusive learning and diverse viewpoints. In her role as Assistant Dean, she trains students, faculty, alumni, and outside organizations and firms on many topics including implicit bias, cultural competency, creating spaces of equity, and having difficult conversations around race, oppression, and marginalization.
Judge David C. Mason, circuit judge for St. Louis City, first conceived the Freedom Suits Memorial, unveiled on June 20 in St. Louis. This sculpture represents the freedom suits and the courageous individuals that were involved in them, roughly 400 slaves who petitioned the Missouri courts for their freedom and those who took up their cause. It is situated on the east side of the Civil Courts Building, between it and the Old Courthouse, where most of the suits were tried.
Judge Mason was appointed circuit judge in August 1991 and was retained in 1992, 1998, 2004, and 2010. He earned his B.S. from Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tennessee, and his Juris Doctor from Washington University School of Law.
Prior to his appointment, Judge Mason served as an assistant attorney general, general counsel to the Missouri Department of Corrections, and was in private practice. Judge Mason has been a teacher of trial advocacy for the National Institute for Trial Advocacy, the Yeshiva University Benjamin Cardozo School of Law, and several bar associations. He also has served as an adjunct professor of law at Washington University School of Law since 1989.
Judge Mason has advanced the cause of minority participation while serving on numerous boards including the Affordable Housing Commission, St. Patrick Center, and Affordable Housing Commission.
Judge Mason is married with two children.
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