i'll turn it over to my co-professor, wade henderson to begin with the introduction. i am john brittain come and together with professor henderson we teach the seminar on civil and human rights in the 21st century. professor henderson? >> thank you. good evening everyone. as john said i am wade henderson, but professor of public interest law here at david a. clarke school of law university of the district of columbia. i'm also the president and ceo of the leadership conference on civil and human rights. and nations leading civil and human rights coalition with over 200 national organizations working to build an america as good as its ideas. on behalf of jon and myself i would like to welcome you to our seminar on civil and human rights in the 21st century. now without question the supreme court's decision last friday in the case of obergefell versus hodges which finally recognized marriage equality for gay and lesbian americans as a fundamental constitutional right is one of the most important decisions of his century and one of the most important supreme court decisi

i am wade henderson. i am the junior professor of public interest law here at the david a clark school of law at the district of columbia. i am also the president and ceo of the leadership conference on civil and human rights, the nations leading civil and human rights coalition. over 200 local and national organizations working to build an america as good as its ideals. i would like to welcome you to our seminar on civil and human rights in the 21st century. without question, the supreme court's decision last friday, in the case of oberfeld versus hodges which finally recognized marriage for gay and lesbians is a fundamental constitutional right is one of the most important decisions of the century and one of the most important supreme court decisions in american civil and jurisprudence. they recognized the opportunity to love and build a family as equals and ushered in a new era of acceptance and security. but of course there is still so much we must do as a nation to ensure the citizenship of americans