HYDE PARK — Fans of famed Hyde Park lawyer Clarence Darrow will meet on March 13 on the 78th anniversary of his death to throw flowers into the lagoon behind the Museum of Science and Industry.
Darrow, best known as the “attorney for the damned” in cases like the Scopes Monkey Trial and the Leopold and Loeb “thrill kill” murder trial, will be remembered at 10 a.m. at his namesake bridge on the south end of the lagoon behind the museum, 5700 S. Lake Shore Drive.
Darrow’s ashes were scattered in the lagoon after his death in 1938.
The annual event, now in its 58th year, brings together speakers and activists whose work parallels Darrow’s beliefs. This year’s theme is immigration and undocumented laborers.
“I am a foreigner; my people didn’t get here until about 1710,” Darrow said in a 1929 debate on the benefits of immigration. “They got here, and now I am asked to close the doors to the people who came over on a later ship.”
After a brief ceremony, the celebration moves to the Rosenwald room in the museum for a symposium with two nuns and an activist who work to protect immigrants and undocumented workers.
Catholic nuns Patricia Murphy and JoAnn Persch will talk about founding the Interfaith Committee for Detained Immigrants, which advocates for immigrants in detention and deportation centers.
Activist Tania Unzueta Carrasco will talk about her advocacy and acts of civil disobedience against the harsh treatment and deportation of immigrants.
The Darrow bridge can be reached via Science Drive off Lake Shore Drive immediately south of the museum.
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