LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Central High School and the government magnet program bestowed the inaugural Alberta O. Jones Award to former University of Louisville Brandeis Law School Dean and Professor Laura Rothstein on Friday.

What You Need To Know

  • Rothstein is the former dean at UofL Brandeis School of Law and longtime supporter of Central High School Law and government magnet program

  • The award honors the late Alberta O. Jones, who was the first African American woman to pass the Kentucky Bar Exam

  • Alberta Jones’ younger sister, Flora Shanklin, spoke during Friday’s ceremony, having previously given her blessing to have the classroom and mock courtroom named after her sister 

It’s a high honor, named after a trailblazing African American woman and lawyer. Rothstein was the driving force in establishing a partnership between the University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law and Central High School.

“When she told me that she was going to retire and move to San Diego, I thought how can we honor her?” Joe Guttmann told a packed classroom at Central High School. Rothstein has been supporting the Central High School Law program for around 20 years. Her impact in the field of law education is incalculable, having taught hundreds if not thousands of students over the years and authoring more than a dozen books, and numbers law articles. 

A portrait of the late Alberta Jones is displayed throughout Central High School (Spectrum News 1/Jonathon Gregg)

Rothstein received several standing ovations during the ceremony, and upon receiving the award, read from its plaque, “Thank you for your leadership and devotion to the study of law in the trailblazing courage of Alberta O. Jones,” Rothstein recited. “I knew about Alberta Jones and the courtroom… But to receive the first award of that is beyond humbling,” Rothstein told Spectrum News.

Alberta Jones, a Central High School graduate, was the first African American woman to pass the Kentucky Bar in 1959 and became Louisville’s first female prosecutor. However, in 1965, she was murdered in Louisville, her body recovered from the Ohio River. It is a case unsolved to this day.

Alberta Jones’ younger sister Flora Shanklin spoke during Friday’s ceremony, having previously given her blessing to have the classroom and mock courtroom named after her sister and most recently gave her blessing to the creation of the award.

“I’m appreciative, I’m honored and I’m happy that her legacy is still being honored day after day, and I wish my mother was still here to see some of it,” Flora Shanklin said.

“It really is quite an honor,” Rothstein said. Rothstein has retired from UofL Brandeis School of Law and moved to San Diego to be closer to her eldest daughter. 

Click here to learn more about Alberta O. Jones.

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