Portrait of Benjamin L. Crump

The Benjamin L. Crump Center for Social Justice at the St. Thomas University College of Law

Purposefully housed at one of the most diverse access law schools in America, the Benjamin L. Crump Center for Social Justice at St. Thomas University College of Law is committed to Legal Advocacy, Education, and Dialogue. Aligned with the College of Law’s objective to promote the dignity of every human being, the Benjamin L. Crump Center for Social Justice has four key pillars and will:

  1. Serve as a hub for educating the next generation of male and female lawyers from diverse backgrounds who will act as social justice engineers.
  2. Execute The Bald Eagle Initiative—named after our nation’s symbol of leadership and strength—which is designed to help Black male law students, who are the most underrepresented cohort within the lawyer population in America, to achieve excellence both in law school and beyond as they successfully transition into the profession.
  3. Facilitate bridge-building among social justice engineers, civil rights activists, and the law enforcement community through active discourse and education.
  4. Defeat structural causes of inequality that leave Black Americans and other minorities with less access to capital; and helping these groups realize the promises of the Constitution and live a life of human flourishing.

The Center will create innovative curriculum, develop implicit bias training and policies, and curate programmatic instruction modules and symposia that advance its goals related to these four pillars. In addition, vital scholarship dollars will be awarded so that students from diverse backgrounds have access to a legal education that will help them develop the tools to become change agents for good.

Invest in our work

Per an agreement between Attorney Crump and St. Thomas University, the St. Thomas University College of Law will become known as the “Benjamin L. Crump College of Law” once $10,000,000 for the Benjamin L. Crump Center for Social Justice has been raised.

Once named, the Benjamin L. Crump College of Law will be only the second law school in the country named after an African American. The first was named after Attorney Crump’s hero, Thurgood Marshall, after he had become the first Black Supreme Court Justice. Equally significant, when the college of law is renamed The Benjamin L. Crump College of Law, it will mark the first time ever that a law school has been named after a Black attorney.

Capital Investments $1,000,000
Academic Symposia $100,000
Endowed Scholarships $75,000+
Benjamin Crump (right) with STU President David A. Armstrong, J.D. (left), and Truist Chief DE&I Officer  Cindy McSweeney (center)
An artist's rendering of the upcoming Benjamin L. Crump College of Law building
STU President David A. Armstrong, J.D., visiting with STU Law School
Portrait of Benjamin L. Crump

Benjamin L. Crump

Listed amongst the Most Influential People of 2021 by TIME100, Ebony Magazine’s Power 100 Most Influential African Americans., the National Trial Lawyers’ Top 100 Lawyers and the 2014 NNPA Newsmaker of the Year, Attorney Benjamin Crump is referred to as “Black America’s Attorney General.” Through a steadfast dedication to justice and service, renowned civil rights and personal injury Attorney Crump has established himself as one of the nation’s foremost lawyers and advocates for social justice, winning several record settlements and verdicts for victims and families that have faced injustice.

He has worked on some of the most high-profile cases in the United States, representing the families of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, the residents of Flint, Michigan who were affected by the poisoned water of the Flint River, as well as the family of Henrietta Lacks in a landmark medical racism case. In the historic case of Tamara Lanier versus Harvard, Attorney Crump’s passionate advocacy before the Massachusetts Supreme Court led to them ruling in favor of a Black woman who sued Harvard for the possession of photographs of her enslaved ancestors and the mental duress caused by their use of them.

Mr. Crump has broken barriers in several legal organizations, serving as the first African-American President of the Federal Bar Association for the Northern District of Florida and the first African-American Chairman of the Florida State University College of Law Board of Directors. He is a member of the American Bar Association, American Association for Justice, The Florida Justice Association, and many other groups dedicated to the law and the pursuit of justice.

A frequent speaker and author, Mr. Crump has been featured in several documentaries including Netflix’s 2022 release, CIVIL: Ben Crump. His book, published in October 2019, Open Season: Legalized Genocide of Colored People, reflects on the landmark cases he has battled, and how discrimination in the courthouse devastates real families and communities. Born and raised in Lumberton, North Carolina, Mr. Crump is the oldest of nine siblings and step-siblings. He received his undergraduate and law degrees from Florida State University. He is a congregation member and serves on the Board of Trustees for the Bethel Missionary Baptist Church. He is married to Dr. Genae Angelique Crump, is the proud father of Brooklyn Zeta Crump, and the guardian of two adopted cousins, Marcus and Chancellor.