The Barrett Lecture, along with the Social Justice Program, was named, endowed, and expanded in honor of George Barrett ’57 in August 2015. “Citizen George,” as he was widely known, was a civil rights pioneer. He represented student protesters in the Nashville sit-in movement, labor unions working to protect workers’ rights, and shareholders and consumers wronged by corporate malfeasance. He was best known for leading a decades-long and ultimately successful legal battle to desegregate Tennessee’s public institutions of higher learning.
Kent McKeever '12
Founder & Managing Attorney Partner, Greater Waco Legal Services
Kent founded Greater Waco Legal Services in 2017 with a passion for providing folks in Waco-McLennan County and surrounding areas access to the justice system through affordable legal representation, advice and resources. As the Managing Attorney Partner, he works with clients on cases involving immigration, wills, probate, and property.
Kent graduated from Baylor University in 2001 & Princeton Theological Seminary in 2004. After serving as the Executive Director and Pastor of a non-profit ministry, he saw the need for legal advocacy on many levels and attended Vanderbilt Law School.
Open to all members of the Vanderbilt Law community, the Book and Film Club on Racial Justice and Civil Rights guides investigation into thought-provoking works to analyze their ideas and perspectives with a goal of developing greater depth of understanding on themes of racial justice and civil rights. Facilitated by a member of our faculty, each meeting encourages open and wide-ranging conversation on the themes raised in each work, connecting them to our own thinking, experiences and areas of study and research.
The Office of Diversity, Equity and Community, along with the George Barrett Social Justice Program, welcomes members of the law school community to these discussions, even if they have not fully read the assigned book.
The George Barrett Social Justice Program and the Public Interest Office are pleased to offer the Social Justice and the Legal Profession lunchtime panel series. The series exposes students to a diverse range of career paths that allow attorneys to put into practice their social justice and public service values. It will also explore the special responsibility all attorneys have for the quality of our justice system.