Nationally renowned civil rights attorney Ben Crump made his 38th campus tour stop at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa where he spoke with students, faculty and community members about his journey in the legal system and to promote his new novel, “Worse Than a Lie: A Beau Lee Cooper Novel.”
The tour had previously visited University of Hawai‘i West O‘ahu, Stony Brook College in New York and Howard University in Washington D.C., among other universities across the country. This event was co-sponsored by the Black Student Association (BSA), Native Hawaiian Student Services (NHSS) and The Ben Crump Law Firm.
The panel explored the future of the legal profession, focusing on the next generation of attorneys and aspiring law students, and highlighted the importance of courage, perseverance and effectively navigating the legal system to challenge injustice.
Crump called for young people of color to be active in confronting systemic injustices, including the school-to-prison pipeline, voter suppression, unequal access to education and health care, limited access to capital, and environmental racism.
“What we gotta do is make sure young, marginalized lambs—those lambs of color—are where the protest (is) the school-to-prison pipeline. Make sure these young lambs are there to protest voter suppression, to protest the denial of access to education,” Crump said.
Crump has represented families of several high-profile civil right cases dealing with injustices in Black and Brown communities. Among them is Trayvon Martin, who was shot and killed by George Zimmerman, a police officer. Crump served as the attorney for the Martin family and pushed for the investigation, arrest and trial of Zimmerman in 2013.
He also represented the family of Breonna Taylor, who was killed in her home due to a police raid in 2020. The case resulted in a $12 million settlement with the city of Louisville. In this same year, Crump represented the family of George Floyd whose death under the knee of a police officer sparked global outrage and eventually led to a $27 million settlement with the city of Minneapolis.
Crump spoke to the audience about one of the most heartbreaking cases he worked on involving Henrietta Lacks, who was treated for cervical cancer at Johns Hopkins Hospital in the early 1950s. During a surgical procedure, tissue samples were taken from her cervix without her knowledge or consent. Lacks died at the age of 31 from terminal cervical cancer.
Her cells that were taken were later replicated and commercialized, forming the HeLa cell line, which has since been widely used in medical research and drug development.
“God allowed us to give Henrietta Lacks a present, at least her family a present for what she gave to us. When the first pharmaceutical settled for an undisclosed amount for her family,” Crump said.
Crump filed a 2021 lawsuit on behalf of Henrietta Lacks against Thermo Fisher Scientific and other pharmaceutical companies over the unauthorized use of her HeLa cells. In 2023, the family settled with Thermo Fisher Scientific. In late February 2026, there was a secured confidential settlement between the estate of Henrietta Lacks and Novartis Pharmaceuticals.
Key takeaways of the event included to never stop “kicking” in the face of injustices, fight for truth and not be afraid of your beginnings.
Iiep Coppedge, a sophomore at UH Mānoa and majoring in political science, said she decided to come to this event as a way to find community.
“I’ve been raised in Hawaiʻi my whole life so I think it’s important seeing that there isn’t a huge population of us here and I think watching someone as influential as Ben Crump was an amazing opportunity.” Coppedge said.
Isavella Zeller, a freshman studying political science, said that her biggest takeaway of the event was the importance of being educated especially for our younger generation.
“As a poly sci student, in today’s day and age, we’re learning about how the higher ups, the government, and people who are supposed to be there for us are actively against certain communities and if you’re not educated, if you’re kids aren’t educated it’s just going to keep happening,” Zeller said.
Stephen King, a community member who attended Crump’s talk story, said that he wants to continue upholding the fight of injustice and hold people accountable.
“It was good to see such a vast array of different minorities here, and people in general… someone who has done so much for our community that’s still fighting, that still has that fire and reverence to move a group of people,” King said.
A book signing was held afterward along with a photo meet-and-greet.
