Fattah to Deliver Keynote Address at Philly Bar Assn. Event Tomorrow

Philadelphia Congressman Chaka Fattah, whom Time magazine has called one of the 50 most promising leaders in the country, will deliver the third annual Judge A. Leon Higginbotham, Jr. Memorial Public Interest Lecture at the Philadelphia Bar Association's Quarterly Meeting and Luncheon tomorrow (Tuesday, June 19) at noon in the Grand Ballroom of the Park Hyatt Philadelphia at the Bellevue, Broad and Walnut Streets. His address comes on Juneteenth, the oldest known celebration of the end of slavery, dating back to 1865.

A member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania's 2nd District, Fattah is one of the leading new Washington voices of the post-Clinton era. He has become a familiar figure on national talk and public affairs programs as a split Congress grapples with a Bush administration agenda that includes tax cuts, economic stimulation, education reform and governmental deregulation.

Particularly in the area of education, no member of Congress has come to embody such diverse leadership experience as Chaka Fattah. Viewing his own education as a bridge to a more successful life, Fattah has said he wants to build similar bridges of opportunity for "those who have been marginalized." He has been responsible for GEAR UP, a national early college awareness program designed to educate millions of students on the importance of post-secondary education. He has also been a major advocate in the fight for expanded educational opportunities.

Fattah now sits on the House Committee on Education and the Workforce. He is also co-chair of the Congressional Web-based Educational Commission and was recently appointed to the House Appropriations Committee.

A life-long resident of Philadelphia, Congressman Fattah attended city public schools, the Community College of Philadelphia, the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School and the University of Pennsylvania Fels School of State and Local Government where he earned a Master's Degree in Government Administration.

Also at the luncheon, the Association will honor senior lawyers of the Bar by inducting new members of the Association's 50-, 60-, 65- and 70-Year Clubs.