Will Smith & George Clinton Raise $10 Million For Law School Named After Ben Crump

George Clinton, Will Smith, Ben Crump

Will Smith & George Clinton Raise $10 Million For Law School Named After Ben Crump

Ben Crump received a hefty amount of financial support from his famous friends, actor Will Smith and musician George Clinton, for his latest accomplishment.

According to reports, Ben Crump, 53, has become the first living Black attorney to have a school named after him. A Florida university has also become the first in the nation to name its law school after a practicing Black attorney. The Benjamin L. Crump College of Law at St. Thomas University was renamed in a ceremony last week.

Ben Crump

Reports state that Oscar-winning actor Will Smith was in attendance right by Ben Crump’s side in Miami for the historical event. Will Smith, funk music legend George Clinton, and Bishop T.D. Jakes reportedly came together to raise a whopping $10 million for the famed civil rights attorney’s new school. Crump also made a $1 million monetary gift to the institution to help support the name change.

Will Smith

George Clinton

Bishop T.D. Jakes

Out of 199 law schools across the nation, the American Bar Association reports that only one other campus is named after a Black lawyer: the Texas Southern University Thurgood Marshall School of Law, named after the first Black U.S. Supreme Court Justice. According to reports, Thurgood Marshall died in 1993.

As you may already know, Crump has been attached to many high-profile cases as he specializes in civil rights and represents catastrophic personal injury clients such as wrongful death lawsuits.

One of his first standout cases was representing the family of Trayvon Martin after the 17-year-old was wrongfully gunned down by a white man, George Zimmerman, who was later acquitted. Most recently, he’s been representing the family of Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old man who was severely beaten last month by Memphis cops before dying. He’s also stood up for Jacob Blake and worked with the families of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd.

Tyre Nichols

What are your thoughts on Ben Crump’s new law school? Comment below and let us know! 

[Sources: 1, 2]