Football, Civil Rights, and Doing Justice: A Conversation with Justice Alan Page

Justice Alan Page

The Law School welcomes former Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Alan Page. Page, B.A. ’67, is a former Notre Dame All-American football player and NFL Hall of Fame member. After his football success, he became the first African American justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court.

The 1950s and ‘60s were a period of significant change in the United States. The Civil Rights Movement exposed deep-rooted divisions in American society. Social and racial tension and turmoil were at the forefront of American life. Page said that he wanted to be a part of the solution.

“When I was eight years old in 1954, the United States Supreme Court decided Brown v. Board of Education,” he said. “That had a tremendous impact on me. I remember reading newspaper articles in the Canton Repository and Cleveland Plain Dealer about the decision. It inspired me.

“If the law had the power to end segregation — and by extension, discrimination — it had the power to change a lot, and that captured me.”

The above is an excerpt from Justice Alan Page's 2016 visit to Notre Dame Law School. Come hear more about Justice Page's path to the judiciary and his fight to provide protection all citizens deserve.

Pizza will be served.

Co-sponsors: The Klau Center for Civil and Human Rights; Sports, Communications and Entertainment Law Forum and Black Students Law Association