Page 14 - Florida Sentinel 1-1-21

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FAMU Law Student Writes Children’s Book To Motivate Black Youth To Attend Law School
Okoye Morgan knew he wanted to be a lawyer in high school. After years of hard work and dedication, he is closer to his dream coming true.
Now, in his third year at Florida A&M University (FAMU) College of Law, Mor- gan gathered his thoughts on the importance of a legal edu- cation and wrote a children’s book called, The Boy Who Went to Law School. “Univer- sally, that could be any boy or girl,” he said.
Morgan realized that “lit- tle to no information is avail- able to educate and inspire our children to look at becoming a lawyer or doctor as a career,” he explained. There’s plenty of information to guide them
into athletics and entertain- ment.
“I wrote a book encourag- ing youth to enter into the legal profession,” Morgan told the Sentinel. “It is impor- tant to have a children’s book that represents people of color achieving professional stud- ies such as law.”
As a child growing up in St. Petersburg, Florida, and spending a lot of time in Tampa, Morgan read a lot of books. Early in life he had a desire to help others
The prospective 2021 FAMU Law graduate plans to practice personal injury and civil litigation after law school.
Looking at racial dispari- ties in the legal
OKOYE MORGAN ...Wrote Children’s Book
profession, Morgan points to the 2019 American Bar Asso- ciation report listing 85 per- cent of lawyers as white, compared to 77 percent of the
U. S. population. Only 5 per- cent of lawyers are African American, 5 percent are His- panic, and 3 percent are Asian.
Morgan is proud of the fact that, FAMU Law boasts of producing lawyers who are Rattlers for Justice. “I want to be a lawyer to create change whether in policy or litigation. To defend those who have been harmed and need justice. Our neighborhoods usually don't have lawyers or curricu- lum that suggest going into the legal profession. I wanted to create something that kids could see in picture and story form to change their recur- ring narrative of literature de- picting mostly athletics or entertainment,” Morgan
said.
The 26-page book can be
purchased through Amazon; and would be a perfect gift for a 4-11 year-old child at any time. “The only way to repair our community is to start with childhood,” he said.
Morgan earned his un- dergraduate degree from the University of Tampa in 2017. And, he’s slated to receive his JD degree in May, 2021.
Morgan is the son of Okoye Morgan, Sr. and Kaye Morgan; and the grandson of the late Bishop and Mrs. Eddie Newkirk (St. John Cathedral). Morgan says his mentors were two legal powerhouses, Wille Gary and H. T. Smith.
BOOK COVER
Shop Small Tampa Directory Features Black Businesses
The City of Tampa is currently hosting its 2nd Annual #ShopS- mallTampa marketing campaign. The event features an online di- rectory of more than three dozen home-based and brick and mortar businesses doing business in the city.
The directory is available on the City’s website at www.tampa.gov.net/ShopSmallTampa.
Nearly 75% of the businesses featured in this year’s directory are owned by local Black entrepreneurs and are represented in all of the online shopping guide’s categories.
The #ShopSmallTampa marketing campaign is part of the City’s Bridges to Business initiative launched by Mayor Jane Castor’s administration to help strengthen relationships between the local business community and city government.
#ShopSmallTampa generated publicity valued at more than $67,000 for dozens of local businesses during last year’s campaign. City organizers hope this year’s campaign will raise an even greater awareness for the need to support local businesses during and be- yond the holidays, as many work to overcome challenges brought on by the pandemic.
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