News & Announcements

November 17, 2021

2021 Plenary Address

The plenary address at the Society’s 2021 annual meeting in New Orleans was given by John Fabian Witt, Allen H. Duffy Class of 1960 Professor of Law at Yale Law School, and entitled “Garland’s Million: The Tragedy and Triumph of Legal History.” The plenary was presented at Tulane University, and the Society is deeply grateful to Tulane University President Michael Fitts and Dean David Meyer (Tulane Law School) for their unflagging commitment to sponsoring this event.

John Fabian Witt is the author of a number of books, including American Contagions: Epidemics and the Law from Smallpox to COVID-19 and Lincoln’s Code: The Laws of War in American History, which was awarded the Bancroft Prize, was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, was selected for the American Bar Association’s Silver Gavel Award, and was a New York Times Notable Book. Professor Witt is currently writing the story of the men and women behind the Garland Fund: the 1920s foundation that quietly financed the efforts that culminated in Brown v. Board of Education.

The 2021 plenary address can be accessed in two ways:

You can watch the plenary here:

You can listen to the audio only here: