{"id":91314,"date":"2021-02-08T11:22:43","date_gmt":"2021-02-08T16:22:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/?p=91314"},"modified":"2021-03-03T13:50:57","modified_gmt":"2021-03-03T18:50:57","slug":"alumnus-holds-court-as-black-history-keynote-speaker","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/2021\/02\/08\/alumnus-holds-court-as-black-history-keynote-speaker\/","title":{"rendered":"Alumnus Holds Court as Black History Month Keynote Speaker"},"content":{"rendered":"

Judge Kerwin A. Miller Sr., who graduated from Mary Washington in 1995, will deliver the virtual keynote address on Wednesday, Feb. 10, for the James Farmer Multicultural Center\u2019s Black History Month celebration.<\/p>\n

\"Judge
Judge Kerwin A. Miller Sr. ’95, will deliver the virtual keynote address on Feb. 10, for the James Farmer Multicultural Center\u2019s Black History Month celebration.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As a young teenager growing up in the Bronx, Miller came across an article about how unlikely it was for an African American male to graduate high school. Taking that news story as both an insult and a challenge, he vowed he\u2019d have a different outcome. At Mary Washington, he excelled both in the classroom as a business administration major and on the court as a member of the Eagles basketball team.<\/p>\n

A few years later, Miller found himself in a different kind of court after earning a juris doctorate from Southwestern University School of Law in Los Angeles. He became an attorney with the Legal Aid Bureau in Baltimore, and worked his way through the legal system, serving as a public defender, assistant state\u2019s attorney and eventually an administrative law judge. In 2019, he was sworn in by Governor Larry Hogan as the second African American judge in the history of Harford County, Maryland.<\/p>\n

Outside the courtroom, Miller spends his time with his wife, Alethea \u201cLisa\u201d Patillo Miller \u201996, and their two teenage children, and also teaches law classes at the University of Maryland. Many of his former students have said how meaningful it was to learn from a practicing Black attorney and judge.<\/p>\n

\u201cI realized it\u2019s important for them to see this, and they are telling me as much,\u201d Miller told the University of Mary Washington Alumni Magazine<\/a> last fall. \u201cI felt it was an obligation as part of my service to the community to continue to be there.\u201d Miller hopes to impart some of the same wisdom to UMW students on Wednesday. Register for the event<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In addition to Miller\u2019s keynote, the James Farmer Multicultural Center will host events throughout February as part of Black History Month, including discussions, film screenings, music performances, dance classes, game nights, African American cuisine and more. Most events will be held virtually and several require registration. To learn more, please visit https:\/\/students.umw.edu\/multicultural\/programs\/black-history-month-celebration\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n