HatTip Sibilj – The NAACP is hosting it’s annual leadership conference this weekend in Destin Florida. Today (Saturday) TrayMom™ will be joining Daryl Parks, from the Trayvon family law firm of Parks and Crump, at a panel discussion (details below). But what is more interesting is what follows later in the evening. First the Panel discussion:
Judge Greg Mathis, comedian Marlon Wayans and others will join Trayvon Martin family attorney Daryl Parks for an NAACP-hosted panel discussion on the late teenager, the justice system and its treatment of black and minority youths.
Titled “Protecting Our Black Men Walking,” the two-hour town hall will feature talks on racial profiling, the high incarceration rates of minorities, police misconduct and more. The event, which is the centerpiece of the NAACP’s annual leadership conference in Destin, Fla., will be live streamed.
Later in the day Daryl Parks will be recognized with Chairman’s Leadership and Achievement Award at the Annual Leadership by Design Achievement Dinner. Here is the interesting portfolio presented by the NAACP as background for Daryl Parks winning this year’s award:
DARYL D. PARKS is co-founder and managing partner of the law firm of Parks & Crump, L.L.C., located in Tallahassee, Florida. On Wednesday, August 3, 2011, Mr. Parks was sworn-in as the 69th President of the National Bar Association (“NBA”).
In 2008, Florida Trend Magazine named Parks one of the “top 50 Floridians that will change the world.” Daryl Parks takes a global perspective to all he does, from activism to philanthropy to business and the law. To that avail, President Parks plans to lend his skills, talent and time to expand its horizons and lead the National Bar Association to the next level.
President Parks has participated in numerous NBA international meetings, most recently, in Past President Demetrius Shelton’s stead, leading a delegation to China.
President Parks’ goals for his presidential term include: improving technological infrastructure, stabilizing finances and generating revenue, elevating the NBA’s voice on judicial and legal issues, and increasing membership. Advancing the NBA’s technological infrastructure is key to increasing knowledge and access to NBA events and membership benefits.
He plans not only to stabilize and improve the NBA’s finance and budgetary systems, but will continue efforts to diversify revenue streams.
His agenda includes elevating the NBA’s voice on judicial and legal issues, and providing increased access to Capitol Hill. Membership is the lifeline of any organization; President Parks will encourage current members to renew dedication of their time and talent to the NBA, reclaim past members, recruit new members, and continue the pipeline efforts at law schools.
During the upcoming year, Parks will ensure the NBA maintains its commitment to civil rights and serving the underprivileged both nationally and internationally. The leaders of the NBA recognize the significance of the 2012 United States Presidential election, and will work diligently to empower voters and ensure election protection.
The NBA will continue its effort to provide opportunities to African American students through the Crump Law Camp, will continue providing economic relief to Haiti, and will expand domestic and international aid programs. President Parks will also seek to strengthen the NBA’s relationship with foreign entities and associations to elevate the NBA’s global affiliations and status.
A Life Member of the NBA and accustomed to national leadership positions, President Parks has held various positions within the organization over the past sixteen years including: General Counsel, Vice-President of Finance, Regional Director of Region XI, and President of the Virgil Hawkins Florida Chapter of the NBA.
President Parks’ commitment and dedication was recognized by his receipt of Presidential Awards in 2005, 2007, 2008, and 2009. A talented trial attorney, the American Association for Justice appointed President Parks to serve as its Minority Caucus Chair and on the Board of Governors. He has also held numerous leadership positions with the Florida Justice Association, including serving on the Board of Directors and serving as Diversity Committee Chairman, Vanguard Fundraising Committee Chairman, and Women & Minority Task Force Vice-Chairman.
He is also a member of the Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers and the Million-Dollar Advocacy Forum. An active member of the Florida Bar, President Parks served on the board of the Florida Bar Foundation and on the Florida Bar Admissions Committee.
Most recently, Senator Bill Nelson appointed President Parks to the Federal Judicial Nominating Commission for the Northern District of Florida, and Governor Charlie Crist appointed him to the Judicial Nominating Commission for the First District Court of Appeals for Florida.
President Parks served his alma mater as Vice-Chairman of the Board of Trustees for Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU), as a board member of the FAMU Foundation, Inc., and as Chairman of the FAMU Boosters.
He remains actively involved in his community and serves on the board for the Tallahassee Urban League, is Chairman of the board for the Leon County Sickle Cell Foundation, and on Bethel AME’s Community Development Corporation.
President Parks and his firm are known for their philanthropy and activism. He annually endows several scholarships at Florida State University College of Law and FAMU for economically challenged students. In 2008, Parks & Crump, L.L.C. committed to an annual endowment of $1,000,000 to fund Legal Services of North Florida, Gadsden County Division, providing legal representation to indigent citizens of Florida’s only predominately African American County.
In honor of their contribution, Legal Services renamed their Quincy facility the Parks & Crump Justice Center. In 2008, the Association of Fundraising Professionals also recognized President Parks as Outstanding Philanthropist of the Year.
In 2006, his firm represented the parents of a fourteen year-old killed in a juvenile boot camp in Bay County, Florida, recovering a multi-million dollar settlement and convincing the Florida legislature to close all remaining juvenile in boot camps in the State.
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) acknowledged President Parks’ civil rights activism, awarding him the National Foot Soldier Award in 2003.
A Haines City, Florida native, Daryl D. Parks attended FAMU on a Presidential Scholarship. While a student, President Parks was the first Student Body President elected to two consecutive terms and founded the National Coalition of Black College Student Governments.
In 1992, Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity selected Parks as National College Brother of the Year, and he graduated from FAMU with his Bachelor degree in political science and economics.
Parks received his Juris Doctorate from Florida State University in 1995, and founded Parks & Crump, L.L.C. in 1996 with partner, Benjamin L. Crump. His firm Parks & Crump focuses on wrongful death, medical malpractice, products liability and pharmaceutical litigation, personal injury, and civil rights cases.
President Parks is admitted to practice law in the State of Florida, the Federal Courts for the Middle and Northern Districts of Florida and the United States Supreme Court. He has also appeared for special purposes in Georgia, Maryland, Missouri and New Jersey.
Looking at all of these objectives it appears the Institutional Black Leadership has big plans for Mr. Parks…