The NAACP Authorized Protection Fund launches a $40 million scholarship program for future civil rights legal professionals, with assist from an nameless donor

As the NAACP Legal Defense Fund celebrates its 80th anniversary this year, they are also giving back – $ 40 million – to support the careers of future civil rights attorneys.

Thanks to an anonymous donor, the legal group is launching the Marshall Motley Scholarship Program, named after Thurgood Marshall, founder of the Legal Defense Fund (LDF) who was the first judge on the Black Supreme Court, and Constance Baker Motley, the first black woman to be To serve federal judge and take a case to the Supreme Court.

The scholarship will fund the education and training of 50 aspiring civil rights attorneys over the next two decades – including full law school funding, summer internships, and a two-year postgraduate scholarship at a racial justice law firm in the south. That corresponds to an investment of 40 million US dollars, said the LDF in a statement on Monday.

“For 80 years, LDF has been a leader in developing and supporting many of our country’s legendary civil rights lawyers and leaders,” said Sherrilyn Ifill, president and director-counsel, LDF. “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.”

Those selected for the program, which specifically focuses on developing advocates for southern Black communities, will commit to civil rights for at least eight years after the program is completed, the LDF said. And students who are starting their law degree this year can apply.

The scholarship creation comes as more law students are burdened with debt – more than half are in debt of $ 150,000, according to a 2020 American Bar Association poll. Among the color advocates, that number is growing even more. White respondents borrow an average of $ 156,000 while Spanish, Asian, and Black respondents borrow between $ 180,000 and $ 190,000 on average.

“The support this program provides is a deliberate effort to remove the racial and economic barriers that often prevent students from pursuing their dreams of becoming civil rights attorneys,” the LDF wrote in a statement saying that Program was announced. “Systemic racism remains a deeply ingrained part of American life with widespread and far-reaching consequences, and there is a growing need for lawyers to combat it. The (scholarly) program is a response to the widespread inequality, racial injustice and lack of resources that continue to plague the South and its black communities. “

The news comes amid growing calls to fight racial injustice in the US following a summer of protests last year in response to the deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and others.

In the south in particular, there is a “stronghold of white supremacy” and systems of repression, Jino Ray, director of the new scholarship program, said in a statement.

“If we are genuinely ready to call racial injustice a thing of the past once and for all, we need extremely passionate lawyers, impeccably trained and equipped to work with the activists and organizers who have long worked to dismantle the oppressive systems in the south “, he said.