My life has been devoted to the intersection of race, law and justice. As an activist scholar, I often extend my expertise beyond the walls of academic institutions. I engage in research that is relevant to current social problems and use my credentialing and expertise to facilitate change. I wish to engineer a criminal justice transformation whereby crime and conflict are situated in proper context-as harm to people as opposed to violations of law.
get to know me.
seen on
and more
"Justice must not only be done; it must be seen to be done. The interest of justice requires more than a proceeding that reaches an objectively accurate result; trial by ordeal might by sheer chance accomplish that. It requires a proceeding that, by its obvious fairness, helps to justify itself."
U.S. v. McDaniels, 379 F. Supp. 1243, 1249 (1974)
I am a licensed attorney and have been for over twenty-five years. I am also a full-time professor of law. I view my classes as learning laboratories where I facilitate discussion and promote higher-order thinking. My goal is to produce lawyer-leaders who will innovate on a multitude of fronts.
Jennifer A. Goodson refers to advocacy as "a ministry of influence using persuasion, dialogue, and reason to affect change." Advocacy seeks to "address structural and systemic [issues]….by changing policies, practices, and attitudes that perpetuate inequality and deny justice." I believe advocacy is a civic duty in a democracy.
I have written op-eds, articles, official statements, drafted judicial opinions, books and more.
Words are weapons. They are the currency I barter with. I am an accomplished public speaker who is uniquely gifted to deliver motivational and/or messages that involve justice, the interplay between race and justice, diversity, equity, inclusion, bias and/or cultural literacy.
_edited.jpg)
The Justice Center (JC) seeks to: center the perspectives and experiences of marginalized people and/or people of color who interface with the legal system; transform the legal system and other systems that harm; abolish racial hierarchies and more.
To some, knowledge is a form of contraband. Despite this, because of this and in light of this, I share and/or deliver human or civil rights and social or transitional justice content that is often overlooked or ignored by mainstream mediums.
Join the mailing list
Interested in staying up to date on social justice news? If so, subscribe to the Justice Center's email list.