Disability rights specialist to deliver Annual Edith House Lecture

Monday, March 5, 2007 WRITER: Jessica S. McGahee, 706/542-5172, jmcg@uga.edu CONTACT: Tiffany Andrews Cartwright, tac@uga.edu Disability rights specialist to deliver Annual Edith House Lecture ATHENS, Ga. - Harriet McBryde Johnson, a nationally-recognized disability rights attorney and activist, will present the University of Georgia School of Law\u27s 25th Edith House Lecture, titled Disability Rights: A liberation movement for all people. The lecture will be held Wednesday, March 21, at 4:00 p.m. in the Larry Walker Room of Dean Rusk Hall. The event is free of charge and open to the public, with a reception to follow at the law school\u27s Sutherland Courtyard. For nearly 30 years, Johnson has been active in the struggle for social justice, particularly in the field of disability rights. Her private law practice in Charleston, S.C., specializes in benefits and civil rights claims for poor and working people with disabilities. Johnson is currently involved with the Charleston\u27s Disability Resource Center, the Carolina Alliance for Fair Employment (CAFÉ) and the National Lawyers Guild Disability Rights Committee. She holds a world endurance record for protesting the Jerry Lewis telethon for the Muscular Dystrophy Association for 16 years without interruption. Johnson earned her law degree from the University of South Carolina School of Law. She also holds a bachelor\u27s degree from Charleston Southern University and a master\u27s degree from the College of Charleston. The Edith House Lecture Series is hosted annually by the Women Law Students Association (WLSA) in honor of one of the first female graduates of the University of Georgia School of Law. House, a native of Winder, Ga., was co-valedictorian of the law class of 1925, the first class to graduate women. #