The NAACP Legal Redress Committee
For decades, the NAACP, with substantial assistance from the NAACP Legal Redress Committee, has been at the forefront of the most important and historic civil rights battles in Iowa. Most recently, the committee has spearheaded advocacy in support of Fair Chances in Employment legislation (“Ban the Box”), the City of Des Moines Unbiased Policing Ordinance, the University Heights Anti-racial Profiling Ordinance, policies to keep juvenile records confidential, fair representation on juries, nullification of unfair employment arbitration agreements, fair restoration of voting rights, and improved functioning of the Iowa Civil Rights Commission. Betty C. Andrews, President of the Iowa-Nebraska Conference of NAACP Branches, will accept the award on behalf of the committee. Andrews is also owner of Betty Andrews Media; and executive director, I’ll Make Me a World in Iowa.
Professor Russell Lovell, Drake Law School
Professor Russell Lovell, through his work at Drake University Law School, Legal Services of Indiana, the Indiana Center on Law and Poverty and as a volunteer with the NAACP, has demonstrated a lifelong commitment to furthering the fundamental rights of the nation’s most vulnerable citizens. Lovell has been active in high profile civil rights cases throughout the nation, including Indiana, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, and New York.
Former Drake Law School Dean David Walker
Former Drake Law School Dean David Walker joined the Drake Law School faculty as associate professor in 1975, was promoted to professor in 1978, and served as dean of the Law School from 1987 to 1996 and again from 2003 to 2008. Walker previously served as Director of Litigation for Legal Services of Indianapolis and assistant professor at the University of Akron School of Law. Walker, also a dedicated NAACP volunteer, has a lifelong record of promoting equal rights for all.
Lovell and Walker have instilled a passion for public service in multiple generations of law students and equipped them with the tools to successfully uphold the protections of the Constitution and the nation’s civil rights laws.
