Events

Julie Hurwitz, Civil Rights Attorney

• • Julie Hurwitz, of Detroit, Michigan, is a partner in the firm of Goodman Hurwitz & James, P.C., where she specializes in civil rights and government misconduct litigation. She is the founding Executive Director of the Sugar Law Center for Economic and Social Justice [Sugar Law Center] in Detroit, from 1990-1993 and 1998-2006. She is currently Vice President of the Michigan/Detroit Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild and is on the Boards of Directors of the Sugar Law Center, and the Michigan Coalition for Human Rights. She has successfully tried several civil rights cases to verdict, including police misconduct, prisoner rights, malicious prosecution, wrongful conviction, failure to protect and sexual harassment cases. She has represented political activists who engage in civil disobedience since the early 1980’s, including several members of DJJ more recently.

Julie Hurwitz is recognized as a 2021 Myra Wolfgang Honoree for her work representing victims of the Flint MI water crisis and Detroit Black Lives Matter organization, Detroit Will Breathe.

Rudy Simons, Peace and Human Rights Activist

• • Rudy (Ruthven) Simons was a vice president of the Cranbrook Peace Foundation, a former co-chair and longtime board member of the MI Coalition for Human Rights, deeply involved with the Center for Peace and Conflict Studies at Wayne State University for decades, and a member of over 20 delegations to foreign countries. He has rallied for causes such as opposition to the Vietnam War, anti-South African apartheid, ending U.S. intervention in Central America, Haiti, Iraq, and Iran, human rights and civil rights.

Rudy Simons is recognized as a 2021 Myra Wolfgang Honoree for his life long impact to enable peace and human rights in Detroit and the world.

They will also recognize…

Detroit Disability Power, Disability Rights Organization

• • Detroit Disability Power is a membership organization that works to build the political power of the disability community. DDP organizes people with disabilities and allies to end disparities people with disabilities face in regards to housing, employment, education, transportation, and healthcare.

DDP is recognized as a 2021 Myra Wolfgang Honoree for their work during the Covid-19 pandemic to ensure access to care, testing and vaccines for the disability community in Detroit and across the state of Michigan.