Steve Cohen: “I keep under the glass on my desk a picture that was taken of Benjamin Hooks as a lawyer with Russell Sugarman, A.W.…”

“I keep under the glass on my desk a picture that was taken of Benjamin Hooks as a lawyer with Russell Sugarman, A.W. Willis, I believe it was A.A. Latting and S.A. Wilbun, and appearing in city court in Memphis and defending individuals in Memphis charged with the violations of the law that were Jim Crow laws. It's a historic picture that people in Memphis know well; they stood up in a courtroom with just about a predominance of policemen around there and white visitors in the courtroom, but they stood for justice and they stood up. Leaders in Memphis like Maxine Smith and Russell Sugarman are getting older, but they continue the fight as Reverend Hooks has. He had a difficult last few days, but he knew his time had come and he was at peace. He tried to make it to the inaugural to see the inauguration of the first African American President, Barack Obama. He was here. I think the weather was such and the conditions that he wasn't able to make it to the inauguration, but he made a point of coming in here and wanted to participate. He was bipartisan.”