NAACP scholarship program to help subsequent technology of civil rights legal professionals

The NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund is working to build a new team of civil rights attorneys to launch a scholarship program to pay for their legal degrees.

The Marshall Motley Scholarship Program is “an innovative education and training opportunity that will create the next generation of civil rights lawyers to serve the black communities of the south” NAACP said in a press release.

The program builds on the legacy of the struggle for racial justice in the United States and brings out the leaders who will fight for racial justice. It starts at the same time Legal Protection Fund is preparing to open its southern regional office in Atlanta this year.

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Sherrilyn Ifill

Sherrilyn Ifill, president and director of the LDF, said the organization has taken the lead for 80 years to develop and support the country’s civil rights attorneys and other lawyers. “The Marshall Motley Scholarship Program is the next phase in our commitment to identifying and investing in a new generation of brilliant minds with a deep personal desire to bring about racial justice in the South.

“The majority of black people in this country still live in the south and face constant barriers to voting, educational equity, and racial and economic justice,” she said. “For this reason, LDF’s practice of filing and litigation has always been largely southern. In the 1960s and early 1970s, LDF invested in the creation of black law firms in the south, providing grants and startup costs to the law firms of some of the most famous civil rights attorneys in the area, including the former president and director of LDF. Counsel Julius Chambers, a legend among North Carolina civil rights attorneys. “

Now is the right time to invest in growing and developing a new team, Ifill said.

“With the MMSP and the opening of our new regional office in Atlanta, LDF is deepening its longstanding presence in the South to harness the talent, passion and dedication of a new cohort of civil rights attorneys,” added Ifill.

The scholarship program is named in honor of Thurgood Marshall, first US Supreme Court Justice and founder of the LDF, and Constance Baker Motley, the first black federal judge and former LDF attorney.

Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin

Columbia, SC, Mayor Steve Benjamin, who is Black, is one of many to be in favor of the new program.

“The Marshall Motley Fellowship Program will not only recognize the transformative civil rights legacy of Justice Thurgood Marshall and Judge Constance Baker Motley, but will also provide a framework to ensure that new and sustainable generations of civil rights warriors advocate greater racial justice and justice South.”

The program offers full scholarships and other related costs for a law degree, he said. Participants must complete an internship, apprenticeship, graduate degree, and an obligation to spend eight years in the South doing legal work.

The program is designed to provide avenues to self-sufficiency, leadership, and socio-economic progress. It will develop participants who advocate change in the black community.

“The moment we are in has made it clear that there is still a lot of work to be done to make the promise of equal justice and civil rights a reality for all in the United States,” said Bryan Stevenson, founder and chief executive officer of Initiative for equal justice.

“It is now certain that we will need another generation of lawyers and attorneys who fight for the rights of vulnerable, disadvantaged and marginalized people in this country,” said Stevenson. “This is vital in the American South, where a long history of violence, exploitation and discrimination against people of color has created urgent problems that need to be addressed.”

He said people have always underestimated the complexities and skills of a good civil rights attorney, which makes the new scholarship program all the more exciting.

Former Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, also a former LDF attorney, said he was excited about this start too. “I started my career with the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and it was a pivotal work experience for me and I’m sure these young attorneys can say that too. 2020 has shown us all that economic inequality, the barriers to advancement and advancement in public and civic education are exacerbating the challenges we face directly. “

The new generation of civil rights attorneys trained through this program “will be prepared for the next iteration of the challenges,” he said.

The program is funded by an anonymous donor who contributed $ 40 million to the 50-participant program.

The scholarship program comes at a time when black students continue to face barriers to entering law school. And the cost of private law school has increased 175% since 1985 American Bar Association notes that student loans play a disproportionate role in attorneys of color. As a result, they often take undesirable career paths.

This program addresses this barrier that is holding some from pursuing careers as civil rights attorneys.

“Systemic racism remains a deeply entrenched part of American life with widespread and far-reaching consequences, and there is a growing need for lawyers to combat it,” according to the NAACP. “The MMSP is a response to the widespread inequality, racial injustice and lack of resources that continue to plague the South and its black communities.”

The application deadline for MMSP is February 16. To learn more about MMSP or to apply, visit MarshallMotleyScholars.org.