TAMPA, Fla. — Well-known civil rights attorney Ben Crump was named the keynote speaker of the Tampa Bay History Center's first annual Black History Month Reception.
The event will kickstart a series of special programs geared toward highlighting Black history and showcasing the facility's upcoming gallery expansion, according to an announcement from the center.
“It’s crucial that we share and learn from our diverse experiences,” History Center President and CEO C.J. Roberts wrote in an emailed statement. “The History Center is a place where discovering and understanding our region’s past can inform our shared future."
Crump, 52, represented Trayvon Martin's parents as they demanded answers after George Zimmerman shot and killed their son. Crump played a key role in getting the 911 calls released and succeeding in the family's wrongful death suit against the homeowner's association.
More recently, Crump helped secure George Floyd's family a $27 million settlement with the City of Minneapolis after Floyd was murdered by now-former Police Officer Derek Chauvin.
The Black History Month Reception is scheduled to start at 6 p.m. Friday inside the History Center's TECO Hall on Water Street in Tampa.
“Representation matters,” Fred Hearns, the History Center’s curator of Black history, wrote in a statement. “We have a unique opportunity to share tremendous stories of perseverance, uplift, and leadership with a new generation. Our commitment to preserving and sharing Black history runs deep as we expand our galleries with new artifacts.”
Organizers say the reception will honor Civil Rights leader Dr. Bernard LaFayette, Jr., who was born in Tampa and co-founded the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee.
