Event honors 28 legal pioneers for their contributions to the civil rights movement in Birmingham

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama - A sold out crowd of nearly 700 is expected for an event in Birmingham tonight honoring 28 lawyers for their contributions to the civil rights movement in Birmingham.

The Journey for Justice Gala at the Cahaba Grand Conference Center will also include the premier of the 27-minute documentary "Preserving Justice," which relates the story of the critical roles lawyers, both black and white, played in the civil rights movement.

The documentary produced by the University of Alabama Center for Public Television, will air on Alabama Public Television. It will be shared with area high school and college students in the fall of 2013.

The gala and documentary are part of the Journey for Justice Project sponsored by the Birmingham Bar Foundation, the Magic City Bar Association and the Birmingham Bar Association.

Clarence B. Jones, former personal counsel, adviser, draft speech writer and close friend of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., will deliver the keynote address at the gala.

Jones is currently a Visiting Professor at the University of San Francisco and a Scholar Writer in Residence at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Research & Education Institute at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California.

In April 1963, Jones drafted the settlement agreement between the City of Birmingham and Martin Luther King, Jr. to bring about the end of demonstrations and the desegregation of department stores and public accommodations. In August 1963, he assisted Dr. King in the drafting of his celebrated "I Have A Dream" speech that he delivered at the March On Washington on August 28, 1963.

Jones also is among the legal pioneers, living or dead, being honored at tonight's gala.

The others are: Oscar W. Adams Jr.; Norman Amaker; James K. Baker; Abe Berkowitz; Orzell Billingsley; Harvey Burg; U.W. Clemon; Jerome "Buddy" Cooper; J. Mason Davis; Edward Friend Jr.; Peter A. Hall; Charles Hamilton Houston: Frank M. Johnson; Paul Johnston; Tom King Sr.; Thurgood Marshall; Nina Miglionico; Chuck Morgan; Constance Baker Motley; Demetrius Newton; Vernon Patrick; J. Richmond Pearson; Arthur D. Shores; C. Erskine Smith; Robert Vance; David Vann; and W.L. Williams Jr.