The Harris County Attorney's Office and Harris County District Attorney's Office are pleased to announce an exciting CLE opportunity open to all free of charge. Fighting Hate Crimes and Bias in Texas is a program inspired by Patricia Bernstein's Ten Dollars to Hate: The Texas Man Who Fought the Klan. Telling the story of District Attorney Dan Moody, who was the first to successfully prosecute Klansmen for their brutal assaults, the book serves as the backdrop for our speakers who will discuss modern prosecution of hates crimes in Harris County and forms of bias, such as unconscious workplace bias, that have modern legal implications. Click the link to register today!
Messages from our program sponsors
Program
Our program begins at 1:30 p.m. with a welcome from co-sponsors Harris County Attorney Vince Ryan and Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg beginning followed by Patricia Bernstein, author of Ten Dollars to Hate, and a panel of local legal experts who will share from their experiences fighting hate crimes and bias in Texas.
Speakers
1:40 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.
Patricia Bernstein
Author of Ten Dollars to Hate, Patricia Bernstein, will join us to discuss her book and her research about the Texas District Attorney who took on the Ku Klux Klan in the 1920s. Following her presentation, Patricia will be available for questions about her book.
2:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Assistant District Attorney Ruben Perez
Ruben Perez joined the Office of Kim Ogg, Harris County District Attorney, as Chief of the Special Crimes Bureau in 2017 after working as a United State Attorney for the U.S. Southern District of Texas from 1992 to 2017. In his work at the federal level, Ruben prosecuted hate crimes, human trafficking, and organized crime. Ruben also served as an assistant district attorney in Harris County from 1981 to 1992. He will share his expertise on fighting overt hate at the state and federal levels.
3:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Allison O. Bashir
Allison O. Bashir is Manager of Diversity and Inclusion for the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. She has dedicated her career to equal opportunity in the work and academic environment as both an employment defense attorney and a human resources professional. Allison will share her expertise in fighting workplace discrimination and unconscious bias from an administrative and civil legal perspective.
3:40 p.m. - 4:10 p.m.
Dena Marks
Dena Marks is the Senior Associate Director of the Anti-Defamation League’s Southwest Regional Office. Her main responsibility at ADL is publicity, but she also serves as a liaison with law enforcement, facilitates various training sessions, coordinates regional fact finding, handles some discrimination complaints, staffs ADL’s International Affairs Committee, Security Committee and coordinates interfaith security issues for the region. Before joining the ADL in April of 1999, she spent 21 years in television news. She also has worked as a group exercise instructor, personal trainer, freelance writer, waitress, janitor, and for the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. She is a native Houstonian.
4:10 p.m. - 4:40 p.m.
Arsalan Safiullah
Arsalan Safiullah has been the Staff Attorney at Council on American Islamic Relations'-Houston Chapter (CAIR-Houston) for over three years. At CAIR-Houston, he advises members of the Muslim community on discrimination, immigration rights and other civil rights matters. Arsalan also serves as the vice-president of the Muslim Bar Association of Houston.
Arsalan has appeared in several media outlets to speak on behalf of American Muslims and he has been a featured speaker at high schools, universities, and community events on a variety of topics concerning Islam, Muslims and civil rights. Arsalan earned his undergraduate degree from McGill University in Montreal and holds a Master of Biotechnology (M.Biot.) and a Juris Doctorate (J.D.) from Texas A&M University.
About Ten Dollars to Hate by Patricia Bernstein
The book Ten Dollars to Hate tells the story of District Attorney Dan Moody, who was the first to successfully prosecute Klansmen for their brutal assaults. Learn more about the book online at: