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IN HONOR OF BLACK HISTORY MONTH, WE’RE LOOKING BACK AT A HISTORIC ORGANIZATION THAT BEGAN RIGHT HERE IN DES MOINES. AND A NEW PROJECT. ����vlog ALYSSA GOMEZ TELLS US THE ORIGIN OF THE NATIONAL BAR ASSOCIATION AND HOW IT’S LOOKING TOWARD THE FUTURE. THE NATIONAL BAR ASSOCIATION IS THE NATION’S LARGEST, PREDOMINANTLY AFRICAN AMERICAN GROUP OF AFRICAN AMERICAN ATTORNEYS, AND IT WAS STARTED IN DES MOINES IN 1925 AFTER FIVE IOWA ATTORNEYS WERE DENIED MEMBERSHIP TO THE AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION BECAUSE OF THEIR RACE. A GROUP BORN RIGHT HERE IN THE CAPITAL CITY MARKING ITS CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION IN 2025. FORMER NBA PRESIDENT HENRY HAMILTON SAYS ITS MISSION HAS REMAINED THE SAME SINCE DAY ONE. WORK FOR THE COMPETENCE OF AFRICAN AMERICAN ATTORNEYS TO GIVE THEM A NETWORK TO WHERE THEY CAN GROW THEIR SKILLS AND GROW THEIR PROFESSIONALISM, AND THEN ALSO FIGHT FOR CIVIL RIGHTS. HELEN BO PLAYS A KEY ROLE IN ORGANIZING THE CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION, AND SHE SAYS NOW MORE THAN EVER, ORGANIZATIONS LIKE THE NBA ARE VITAL. I THINK IT’S A VOICE. IRREGARDLESS OF EFFORTS THAT ARE BEING MADE TO QUASH VOICES. THIS VOICE HAS BEEN AROUND FOR 100 YEARS. NEXT MONTH, MEMBERS FROM THE NBA WILL GATHER IN DES MOINES, WHERE IT ALL STARTED. A CITY WHERE YOU CAN FIND PIECES OF BLACK HISTORY IN EVERY NEIGHBORHOOD, LIKE THE EDNA GRIFFIN BUILDING, WHERE IN 1948, AN AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMAN WAS DENIED SERVICE AT CATTESE PHARMACY, BUT SHE SUCCESSFULLY SUED WITH AN NBA FOUNDER IN BLACK IOWA ATTORNEY LEADING THE LITIGATION OR THE SHATTERING SILENCE MONUMENT THAT CELEBRATES IN RE RALPH, THE 1839 LANDMARK IOWA TERRITORIAL SUPREME COURT RULING WHERE THE STATE ESTABLISHED THAT, YOU KNOW, NO ONE CAN OWN ANOTHER AS PROPERTY. NBA MEMBERS WILL TAKE A TOUR OF THESE HISTORICAL PLACES, AND IT ALL ENDS HERE AT A MONUMENTAL JOURNEY, A PIECE DEDICATED TO THE 12 FOUNDING MEMBERS OF THE NATIONAL BAR ASSOCIATION, WHO DECIDED 100 YEARS AGO THEY WERE GOING TO CHANGE THE COURSE OF HISTORY. AND RIGHT THERE, A TIME CAPSULE WILL BE BURIED. MILLER’S HOPE IS THAT THE NBA MEMBERS THAT OPEN IT 100 YEARS FROM NOW WILL CONTINUE TO MAKE STRIDES. THE FUTURE IS BRIGHT. WHAT? YOU STAND THERE AND YOU LOOK BACK THAT WE’VE BEEN ABLE TO DO THIS FOR 100 YEARS. YOU CAN KEEP GOING. AND YOU ALSO RECOGNIZE THAT YOU HAVE TO KEEP GOING. IN DES MOINES, ALYSSA GOMEZ ����vlog EIGHT NEWS, IOWA’S NEWS LEADER. IT IS GOING TO BE QUITE THE EVENT. IF YOU’D LIKE TO WITNESS THE HISTORY MAKING MOMENT, MANY OF THE EVENTS FOR THE CENTENNIAL CONFERENCE WILL BE OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. YOU CAN CHECK OUT THE ENTIRE AGENDA FOR THE WEEKEND AT T