Page 2 - Florida Sentinel 4-13-18

Feature
Prominent Attorney Chosen As Lightning ‘Community Hero’
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
On Thursday (tonight) the Tampa Bay Lightning Foun- dation will honor another Lightning “Community Hero.” This time, the honor goes to a prominent Tampa attorney.
The foundation will be- stow the prestigious title on Attorney Warren Hope Dawson during its first play-off game at the Amalie Arena.
Attorney Dawson is being recognized for the legal work and community activism he has accom- plished over the past 50 years. As part of the recogni- tion, Attorney Dawson will have the opportunity to help charities and not-for- profit organizations that focus on education, religion, civil rights, and other com- munity concerns.
Attorney Dawson is best known for his role as lead counsel for the plain- tiffs in the now famous law- suit known as Manning vs. the School Board of Hills- borough County.
In 1974, Attorney Daw- son became the lead coun- sel for the African American students and their parents in the lawsuit.
As the lead counsel, he was responsible for monitor- ing and enforcing the deseg- regation Orders handed
ATTORNEY WARREN DAWSON
down by the Federal Courts. The goal of the lawsuit was to eliminate dual education system in the county.
It was not until 2001, that a Federal Appeals Court fi- nally ruled that the School District had achieved "uni- tary status" and no longer required federal judicial su- pervision.
Attorney Dawson also participated in the voting rights case of Warren vs. City of Tampa. That case successfully challenged the at-large election systems of the City of Tampa and Hills- borough County. That legal effort led to the creation of a combination of at-large and
single-member districts in the city and county.
A native of Mulberry, At- torney Dawson graduated from Union Academy High School, in Bartow. He con- tinued his education at Florida A & M University. After graduating, Attorney Dawson served as an active duty officer in the U. S. Army.
After completing his mil- itary stint, he returned to his pursue of higher education and enrolled at Howard Uni- versity, School of Law. He graduated in 1966.
In 1967, Attorney Daw- son became the city's first Black Assistant City Attor- ney for the City of Tampa – and may be the first Black attorney to hold such posi- tion in the South.
In 1983, was he elected as President of the National Bar Association. In that same year, Ebony Magazine paid tribute to him as one of the “100 Most Influential Black Americans.”
Attorney Dawson con- tinues to practice law and re- cently celebrated his 50th year as a practicing attorney in Hillsborough County.
When contacted by the Sentinel, Attorney Daw- son expressed his sincere appreciation to Jeff Vinik and the Tampa Bay Light- ning organization for select- ing him as a “Community Hero.”
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