The sculpture in Roger’s Plaza pays tribute to one of Centre College’s most distinguished alumni, U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Marshall Harlan, class of 1850. The statue, by renowned sculptor Ed Hamilton, sits in front of Old Carnegie and Sutcliffe Hall.
John Marshall Harlan (1833–1911) served on the U.S. Supreme Court from 1877 until his death and is best known as “The Great Dissenter” for his lone, forceful dissents in landmark cases — most famously Plessy v. Ferguson — in which he argued that the United States had no class system. Accordingly, all citizens should have equal access to civil rights.
Born in Kentucky to a slaveholding family, Harlan underwent a notable personal and political transformation, becoming a fierce defender of the civil rights of Black Americans and a durable influence on later rulings, including the legal thinking behind Brown v. Board of Education. Accused of flip-flopping on the issue, Harlan said, “I have lived long enough to feel and declare … that the most perfect despotism that ever existed on this earth was the institution of African slavery. Let it be said," he continued, "that I am right rather than consistent."
Off the bench, he was a vibrant personality, fond of bright clothes, bourbon, tobacco, baseball, and golf. Yet his legacy is one of constitutional rigor: across 34 years, he wrote hundreds of opinions and dissents that continue to inspire. Artifacts like the “Harlan Bible,” signed by every Supreme Court Justice in the last 120 years, remain enduring symbols of his impact.
Bronze dates in the plaza reference the following milestones in Harlan’s life:
Ed Hamilton is a Louisville-native sculptor whose powerful public monuments explore African American history and American identity. He began his career in painting and liturgical work before apprenticing with sculptor Barney Bright. A breakthrough Booker T. Washington commission led to major works, including The Spirit of Freedom (a memorial to Black Civil War veterans in Washington, D.C.), a 12-foot Joe Louis in Detroit, the Abraham Lincoln statues in Louisville’s Waterfront Park and at Centre College (installed 2012), and this likeness of Justice John Marshall Harlan. Hamilton centers representation, especially for children of color, in work that has earned him national recognition, museum retrospectives, and honorary doctorates.
Artist: Ed Hamilton
Year/Date: October 17, 2025
Location: Rogers Plaza
Medium: Bronze
