2025 Henry McGee Lecture to Feature Dr. Quinton Morris & Students from Key to Change

The African and African American Studies Program (AAAS) at the College of Arts & Sciences is thrilled to announce the upcoming McGee Lecture, set for February 19, 2025, at 6:30 p.m. This special event, featuring Seattle University Professor of Violin Quinton Morris and students from his nonprofit, Key to Change, will pay tribute to the remarkable legacy of Professor Henry W. "Hank" McGee, Jr., a dedicated advocate for AAAS (formerly Global African Studies).  

Professor McGee was a prominent law professor and activist, born on December 31, 1932, in Chicago. His father was the first African American Postmaster under President Lyndon B. Johnson. McGee earned a bachelor's degree from Northwestern University in 1954 and a Juris Doctor from DePaul University in 1957, where he was Law Review Editor. He worked as a county prosecutor and litigator and assisted civil rights activists during Freedom Summer in Mississippi.  

In 1969, he obtained an LL.M. from Columbia and became one of UCLA Law's first Black faculty members, teaching Criminal and Housing Law. He also directed UCLA's Center for Afro-American Studies and received Fulbright awards for his work in Spain. After retiring from UCLA in 1994, he became Seattle University Law School’s first tenured faculty member of color and was also an accomplished violinist. 

Professor McGee's touched countless lives, and this lecture series proudly bears his name. The series showcases a diverse array of perspectives on African, African American, Afro-Caribbean, Latin American and other experiences within the African diaspora through contributions from esteemed scholars affiliated with Seattle University and beyond.  
 
Professor McGee was an ardent supporter of AAAS and Key to Change. Established in 2008, AAAS celebrated Professor McGee’s legacy while he was alive with an inaugural lecture and performance by Dr. Quinton Morris. Professor McGee and Dr. Morris developed a close relationship over the years, bonding over their shared experiences as violinists and the “first” African American men in numerous spaces, including their respective positions at Seattle University. To honor Professor McGee’s legacy at the first lecture since his passing, this event will come full circle and once again feature Dr. Quinton Morris—a distinguished faculty member, violinist, and inspiring founder of the impactful nonprofit Key to Change—and will include performances by talented students from his program.   
 
For more information contact: Naomi Rosenberg, AAAS Administrative Assistant rosenbe4@seattleu.edu