This coming Monday, January 17th, 2022, is MLK Day, a federal holiday that recognizes the birthdate of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and commemorates his life and work as a civil rights activist and leader.
Read moreWorld AIDS Day: 40 Years of Progress
To commemorate the 40th anniversary of the release of the MMWR report that first documented what later become known as the AIDS epidemic and to observe World AIDS Day, the American Bar Association, will present HIV/AIDS at 40: Perspectives on the Struggle. This free, non-CLE webinar will take place on December 1, 2021 at 3:00pm CST and will offer “a retrospective on the legal, social, and medical struggles and successes associated with HIV/AIDS over the last 40 years.” The ABA also offers an HIV/AIDS Webinar Series “to identify and address legal policy issues affecting or affected by the epidemic domestically and internationally, with a view to ensuring the rights of all concerned are respected and protected.”
Read moreNational Adoption Day: Harris County Family District Courts Celebrate Forever Families
National Adoption Day is an annual event, celebrated since 2000, that has placed more than 75,000 children living in foster care with forever families. In 400 cities across the nation, policymakers, advocates, and key players in the family court system have collaborated to plan events in furtherance of the event’s shared goals: calling attention to the large number of children in the foster care system, reducing the backlog of adoption cases in family courts across the nation, and celebrating the successful adoption of foster children by loving parents. On November 19, 2021, four Harris County Judges will host private adoptions as well as adoptions with the Department of Famliy and Protective Services. Events start at 9:00 am.
Read moreThe Living Work of Poet Laureate Joy Harjo
In recognition of National Native American Heritage Month, we would like to highlight the life and work of the 23rd and current Poet Laureate, Joy Harjo. A prolific poet, musician, teacher, and activist, Harjo is also the first Native American to serve as Poet Laureate. Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden first appointed Joy Harjo as the 23rd Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress on June 19, 2019. Harjo was reappointed to a second term on April 30, 2020, and to a rare third term on November 19, 2020. She is only the second Poet Laureate to be appointed to a third term.
Read moreVeterans Day Legal Aid Resources
Image credit: https://nara.getarchive.net/
According to the United States Census Bureau’s 2015-2019 American Community Survey, as cited in this infographic, seven percent of all Texas adults are veterans of the U.S. military, making Texas the state with the second-highest population of veterans in the nation. Throughout the country, veterans report that access to free legal services is a top ten unmet need. Today, as we honor veterans not only in Texas but in every state, from every branch of the military, and from every service era, we at the Harris County Robert W. Hainsworth Law Library are providing links to legal information and resources aimed at addressing the need for veterans’ access to justice.
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