MORRIS B. ABRAM
Morris Berthold Abram was a Fitzgerald native who fought feverishly for Human and Civil Rights in the United States and abroad. His work saw the betterment of countless lives, and spearheaded countless changes for those who were oppressed or thought themselves forgotten.
He graduated from the University of Georgia before receiving his law degree from the University of Chicago and his Master’s from Oxford. While at Oxford he served on the prosecution staff of the Nuremburg Trials. In 1949, he was involved in the drafting of the 4th Geneva Convention Treaty. |
Early in his civil rights career he urged the desegregation of schools, negotiated the release of Dr. Martin Luther King from a Fulton County jail, and later served as chairman of the United Negro College Fund. He also sought to end an electoral rule in Georgia that gave disproportionate weight in primary elections to white voters in rural areas over African-American voters living in urban centers.
When the Supreme Court struck down the rule in 1963, Abram briefed then Attorney General Robert Kennedy, who argued the case. The Supreme Court found “Within a given constituency there can be room for but one constitutional rule - one voter, one vote.”
When the Supreme Court struck down the rule in 1963, Abram briefed then Attorney General Robert Kennedy, who argued the case. The Supreme Court found “Within a given constituency there can be room for but one constitutional rule - one voter, one vote.”
From 1963 to 1968 he served as National President of the American Jewish Committee, from 1983-1988 as Chairman for the National Conference on Soviet Jewry, and from 1986-1989 as Chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations.
In 1961 President John F. Kennedy appointed Abram to the chief council of the Peace Corps. He served as President of Brandeis University from 1968-70. In 1975, he was the head of the Moreland Act Commission which investigated corruption in the New York nursing home industry. |
In 1983, Ronald Regan nominated him to the US Commission on Civil Rights. From 1989 through 1993 he served as the Representative of the US to the European Office of the United Nations, appointed by George H. W. Bush and later the US Representative to the UN Human Rights Commission. In 1993, he founded UN Watch which is active in combating human rights abuses, most notably in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Darfur.
He died in Geneva on March 15th , 2000 at 80, due to a viral infection.
He died in Geneva on March 15th , 2000 at 80, due to a viral infection.
THE MURAL AND THE ARTIST
Dylan Ross from Douglas, GA has painted murals across the region, from a tribute to The Andy Griffith show in Broxton, GA to commemorative murals related to local history at the Douglas airport and now in Fitzgerald. He is a self-taught artist. Ross has made artwork for music and football icons like Aaron Murray, Dennis Rodman, Aaron Lewis, and Jason Aldean. He has illustrated a children’s book written by former Georgia Bulldog linebacker Rennie Curran and his daughter Eleana Curran, titled What Does It Take to Be a Star? Currently, At Studio 317 in Douglas, Ross hosts painting classes, workshops and more for his community. Read more...
www.dylanrossart.com
www.dylanrossart.com