Wil Haygood, born and raised in Columbus, is the featured speaker for the October 20 Forum on the Law program. He discusses his new book "Showdown: Thurgood Marshall and the Supreme Court Nomination that Changed America." Haygood's book recounts the stop-at-nothing efforts by a bloc of Southern senators to deny Marshall's confirmation as the first African-American justice to the U.S. Supreme Court. A review of the book by the Los Angeles Times notes: "Haygood wisely avoids getting mired in legal jargon in a richly textured account that brings to life the political and cultural stakes involved in this confirmation fight." Marshall is considered a giant in the civil rights movement for his many courtroom victories, including Brown v. Board of Education, which toppled many of the walls of racial segregation that existed since the nation's founding. For three decades, Haygood was a widely respected reporter for The Boston Globe and then The Washington Post, covering national and international stories. In 2008, he wrote the compelling story of Eugene Allen, the White House butler who served eight presidents over 34 years, the basis for the award winning movie "The Butler." Haygood graduated from Franklin Heights High School.