New Documentary Pays Tribute to Attorney Who Helped Thousands of Black Law Grads Pass the Bar Exam
The Californer/10234025

LOS ANGELES - Californer -- On Thursday, March 23, 2023 at 6:00 p.m. PST, Loyola Marymount University will be hosting "Bar Daddy: An Evening Celebrating Attorney Alfred "Al" Jenkins" at the Mayer Theater in Los Angeles, California. This event is being sponsored by Loyola Law School, Los Angeles, Loyola Marymount University School of Film and Television, Gerren Productions, Michael A. Preston, as well as George Morris Jr., Laura E. Greer, and Zevilla Jackson-Preston.

This special evening will be dedicated to publicly recognizing and honoring the now-retired legal legend Alfred "Al" Jenkins. Attorney Jenkins is a former Los Angeles prosecutor who has actively tutored thousands of Black law school graduates since 1976 from the kitchen table of his home. Al continues to passionately care about increasing the number of Black attorneys and still works with and helps prepare Black law school graduates for the essay portion of the notoriously tough California Bar Exam - even well into his eighties.

In choosing mentees, Al has only two criteria for working with students - that they identify as Black and want to pass the bar exam - the last difficult hurdle to go from law school graduate to licensed attorney. With African Americans making up less than 5% of lawyers, this is Al's way of paying it forward to the Black community and the legal community which suffers from a severe underrepresentation of Black lawyers.

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This event is a way to give Al his roses while he is still with us and to showcase this important documentary project honoring his service for nearly 50 years. The celebration will begin with a special reception featuring hors d'oeuvres and beverages followed by a formal program. The program will include a welcome by current Loyola Law School, Los Angeles Dean Michael Waterstone, an exclusive Question and Answer session with Attorney Al Jenkins by his former student Attorney Capri Maddox, and stories shared by his longtime friend Judge John Meigs. Next, there will be an introduction of Bar Daddy: The Al Jenkins Story by Al's nephew, director and executive producer Jay Gerren, and then the premiere screening of the film.

Following the screening, there will be a talkback with filmmaker Jay Gerren along with the production team including co-executive producer Michael A. Preston, and producers and fellow Black filmmakers Stacie McClam, David Massey, and Evangeline M. Mitchell. The night will end with special presentations for Attorney Jenkins.

This event will provide former students with the opportunity to take commemorative photos with Attorney Jenkins and share video testimonials of the impact that he has made in helping them realize their dreams of becoming lawyers. This is a chance for everyone to get together in one space to collectively celebrate a great man and thank him for investing in so many. His life is a testament to the difference one caring person can make to others.

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Jay Gerren and Michael A. Preston, the visionaries behind this film, felt that this story needed to be told, particularly by those who personally know Al and would tell it with both the respect and care that it so greatly deserves. Gerren and Preston affectionately call Al 'Uncle Al' and hope that the film stands as not only a tribute to Attorney Jenkins but as an inspiration to more Black people to pursue the path of becoming lawyers and judges. They want them to understand that although the path will be difficult, with mentorship and coaching, just as Al has done, the difficulties are not insurmountable.

Gerren Productions welcomes opportunities to screen the film nationally. If interested in screening Bar Daddy, please contact Jay Gerren at jgerren@gerrenproductions.com. To support their efforts to help get out the message of the film by making a donation, please feel free to send via CashApp at $Gerrenproductions. If interested in learning more about the film, please visit the official website at www.bardaddymovie.com. Virtual tickets for the premiere screening are available at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/an-evening-celebrating-attorney-al-jenkins-tickets-551770429207.