Miers Withdraws; Bar Association President and Civil Rights Head Bring Issue of Diversity on the United States Supreme Court into High School Classrooms

With Miers nomination toppled, high school students are asked to give input concerning United States Supreme Court.

Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) October 28, 2005 -- While the White House deals with Harriet Miers' surprising withdrawal as Supreme Court nominee, the Japanese American Bar Association and the Downtown Los Angeles Chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League are bringing the issue of diversity on the United States Supreme Court into high school class rooms.

The Japanese American Bar Association and the Downtown Los Angeles Japanese American Citizens League are sponsoring an essay contest asking high school students to write about the importance of diversity on United States Supreme Court.

"Diversity defines America, yet the word itself can be interpreted in many different ways," stated Downtown JACL President Kitty Sankey.

"This contest is an educational tool that would allow high school students an opportunity to use their critical thinking skills to write a persuasive essay that would convince their readers that a diverse United States Supreme Court would be good for ALL Americans," stated Sankey who is a school teacher with the Los Angeles Unified School District.

"Our Bar Association is very excited about bringing the debate of a diverse judiciary into the class rooms," says Craig Osaki, President of Japanese American Bar Association.

Students are asked to write an essay no longer than 500 words about the importance of diversity on United States Supreme Court. Essays must be typed and double spaced. They may send their essays to Downtown JACL, P.O. Box 189, Monterey Park, CA 91754. Applicants must remember to put their name, address, and telephone number on their essays. All essays mailed must be postmarked no later than December 15, 2005.

The winning student will receive $500.00. The school who promotes the essay contest where the winning student is from will get $250.00 toward student related activities, projects, or supplies, and the teacher of the winning student promoting the contest will get $250.00 toward the use of classroom related supplies or projects. For further information, please call (866) 548-2529.

The Downtown Los Angeles Chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League is one of the oldest civil rights groups in the Los Angeles area.

# # #