The John Langston Bar Association honored former NFL quarterback and activist Colin Kaepernick during their 48th Annual Installation and Awards Gala.
Attorney Tatianna Y. Metters Scurlock was installed as the 2025 president of the Bar Association during the gala. The Bar Association also gave away over $100,000 in scholarships.
“It’s an extravagant cause,” Metters Scurlock said. “I have been entrusted for a great cause with a great challenge but something that we’re all ready for.”
Kaepernick was one of five honorees during the gala along with Lynne M. Hobbs, Lisa M. Gilford esq., Malia M. Cohen, and Franita Tolson.
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The Bar Association gave him the Community Impact award for his efforts with the Know Your Rights Camp and Lumi. Kaepernick founded the Know Your Rights Camp, which is a program that teaches legal rights and self-empowerment to Black and Brown youth.
“[Kaepernick is] very powerful and he’s sacrificed so much, so we are grateful for him,” Metters Scurlock said. “We’re just grateful for our honorees where this is an opportunity where we get to show them how much we honor and we appreciate them.”
Hobbs earned the Bernard S. Jefferson Judge of the Year award. She is a member of the Los Angeles Superior Court.
“I’m extremely happy to be here to accept that award,” Hobbs said. “[Jefferson] was a phenomenal legal scholar and the first African American court of appeal justice appointed in California.”
Gilford, Esq. was awarded with the Loren Miller Lawyer of the Year award for her career along with her contributions to the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund and the S.H.A.U.N. Foundation of Girls.
Loren Miller and John Langston Bar are civil rights heroes for Gilford, Esq.
“I am on the board of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, the law firm started by Thurgood Marshall,” Gilford, Esq. said. “I also co-chaired Women for Kamala Harris during last year’s presidential campaign.”
Tolson is the dean and Carl Mason Franklin chair in law at the USC Gould School of Law; the Bar Association gave her the Leadership award.
“It really is a meaningful platform where you can have change and really affect people’s lives,” Tolson said. “I take that seriously every day.”
