PRESS RELEASE
Armenians of Colorado
P.O. Box 13854
Denver, Colorado 80201
Contact: Kim Christianian
Tel: 303-588-5524
E-mail: [email protected]
Web:
Attorney Mark Geragos to Speak on the Armenian Genocide in Littleton
Celebrated Los Angeles attorney Mark Geragos will discuss the
aftermath of the WWI Armenian Genocide in his `Reparations: Beyond
Recognition’ speech at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 17, 2010, at the
Waring Theatre of Arapahoe Community College (main campus) at 5900
S. Santa Fe Drive in Littleton, Colorado. The lecture is organized by
Armenians of Colorado Inc. with support from Sigma Phi chapter of Phi
Theta Kappa International Honor Society, Colorado Coalition for
Genocide Awareness & Action, and Facing History And Ourselves. Free
admission. A Q&A will follow the talk as will a coffee
reception. Parking will be free in Arapahoe Community College parking
lots.
Mark Geragos is a civil and criminal defense attorney whose precedent
setting courtroom accomplishments have distinguished him as one of the
nation’s leading lawyers. Born in Los Angeles, Mr. Geragos received
his Juris Doctor from Loyola Law School in 1982. Practicing law since
1983, Mr. Geragos is managing partner at the Law Offices of Geragos
and Geragos where he handles criminal defense and civil
litigation. Mr. Geragos occasionally appears as both guest and legal
commentator on the Today show, Good Morning America, 60 Minutes, On
the Record, and has appeared numerous times on CNN’s Larry King Live,
including its twentieth anniversary show.
Mr. Geragos is active in the Armenian community where he has delivered
victories in winning Armenian genocide recognition through insurance
litigation. He was one of the lead lawyers in a pair of groundbreaking
federal class action lawsuits against New York Life Insurance and AXA
for insurance policies issued in the early twentieth century during
the time of the Armenian Genocide. These two cases settled for over
$37.5 million in 2004 and 2005.
Mr. Geragos’ lecture will be part of the Armenian Genocide awareness
and remembrance events in Colorado that will include a commemoration
program on Saturday, April 24 at 2:00 p.m. at the State Capitol’s
Armenian Genocide Memorial Plaque located in the NE quadrant of the
State Capitol grounds, Colfax and Grant.
The Armenian Genocide was carried out by the Ottoman Turks during and
after WWI. It resulted in the near complete extermination of modern
Turkey’s indigenous Armenian population, and in the annihilation of
Armenian cultural artifacts dating back thousands of years. The
Turkish government to this day denies that the Armenian Genocide ever
happened despite scholars’, historians’, and most western governments’
published reports and archives affirming the facts of the
genocide. The term `genocide’ was coined in 1944 (by Raphael Lemkin)
to describe, in part, what happened to Armenians during World War I.
Armenians of Colorado, Inc. (AOC) was established in June 1982. It is
a 501(c) (3) non-profit, cultural organization charged with a purpose
to create a cohesive Armenian community and to further the
understanding of Armenian history, culture, and heritage. AOC actively
supports issues and concerns of the Armenian-American community here
in Colorado as well as those identified within the Armenian Diaspora
throughout the world. For more information about Armenians of Colorado
go to