Meet the Inaugural Cohort of Marshall-Motley Scholars!
On the 67th anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education, LDF announced the inaugural 10-person cohort of the Marshall Motley-Scholars Program (MMSP). Launched in January 2021, LDF’s groundbreaking pipeline program will endow the South with the next generation of civil rights lawyers trained to provide legal advocacy of unparalleled excellence. Scholars pledge to devote the first eight years of their career to practicing civil rights law in service of Black communities in the South. The program is named in honor of Supreme Court justice, legendary civil rights attorney, and LDF founder Thurgood Marshall, and iconic civil rights litigator and the first Black woman to serve as a federal judge, Constance Baker Motley.
The first ever Marshall-Motley Scholars and their hometowns are as follows:
Dominique Erney, Gainesville, Florida
Ashley Fox, Nashville, Tennessee
Briana Hayes, Baxley, Georgia
Princess Jefferson, Houston, Texas
Kendell Long, Dallas, Texas
Victor Olofin, Loxahatchee, Florida
Markus Reneau, New Orleans, Louisiana
Traelon Rodgers, Dallas, Texas
Shandrea Sellers, Montgomery, Alabama
Maydrian Strozier-Lowe, St. Louis, Missouri
“LDF is honored to introduce our first Marshall-Motley Scholars, a cohort of immensely talented and passionate students committed to bringing about racial justice in the South. We received hundreds of impressive applications after launching the MMSP earlier this year and it was difficult reducing that number to the 10 Scholars we have selected. It is clear by the popularity of the MMSP that our nation is replete with passionate individuals seeking to create change,” said LDF President and Director-Counsel Sherrilyn Ifill. “The MMSP launched at just the right moment in our history, as the rights of Black people in the U.S. and the power our communities have amassed have come under renewed attack. As we have seen over the last several months, our democracy requires vigilant protection, particularly for Black communities in the South, which have yet to realize the full and unqualified protection of this nation’s laws and ideals. The inaugural MMSP cohort, and those that will follow it, will play a key role in addressing these constantly evolving threats to democracy and justice. We are proud of these 10 Scholars and look forward to supporting them in carrying on the legacies of Thurgood Marshall and Constance Baker Motley and the many unsung heroes of civil rights advocacy.”
The inaugural cohort is a stellar collection of individuals committed to racial justice and equality. Each of the 10 Scholars is either from the South or was raised in the region. Notable distinctions about the cohort include Congressional Black Caucus and White House Interns; the youngest Board Member in the history of NAACP National Board; Black Student Union presidents; former ACLU and Equal Justice Initiative interns; veteran educators (including an Assistant Principal); and an American Constitution Society Fellow. Bios for the 10 scholars can be found here.
“We are thrilled to welcome the inaugural cohort of the Marshall-Motley Scholars Program into the LDF family and to assist in their development as civil rights attorneys who will advance the rights of Black people in the United States well into the future. Our first 10 Scholars are brilliant, dedicated leaders eager to serve the communities of the South,” said Janai Nelson, LDF’s Associate Director-Counsel. “One of the key aspects of the MMSP is the elimination of financial barriers for our Scholars by fully covering the cost of law school and attendant expenses. This is a vital step in enabling our Scholars to pursue their careers as civil rights advocates unencumbered by the mounting student debt crisis in this country, while also providing them professional development experiences to equip them to become impactful civil rights lawyers. We look forward to working closely with them to help develop their tremendous potential to be the leaders our country needs and ones that will fight for equity and justice for Black communities across the South.”
Over the next five years, LDF’s MMSP will invest in the education and training of a total of 50 aspiring civil rights attorneys to advocate on behalf of Black communities in the South seeking racial justice and equity. Scholars will be afforded a full law school scholarship for tuition, room and board, and incidentals to alleviate the debt burden that can prevent future lawyers from pursuing a career as a civil rights attorney; summer internships with national and regional civil rights organizations with offices in the South focused on racial justice to jumpstart training in civil rights law; a two-year postgraduate fellowship at civil rights law organizations in the South fighting to achieve racial justice; and access to special trainings sponsored by LDF and the National Academy of Sciences.
The MMSP comes at a time when Black students are facing more barriers than ever to attend law school. Studies show that the cost of a private law school education has grown by a whopping 175% since 1985. According to the American Bar Association, student loans take a disproportionate toll on lawyers of color, often forcing them to take unwanted career paths. The support offered by the MMSP is an intentional effort to address the racial and economic barriers that often deter students from pursuing their dreams of becoming civil rights attorneys, and a targeted effort to support the civil rights ecosystem in the South.
“Congratulations to the inaugural Marshall-Motley Scholars – an impressive collection of brilliant young minds and inspiring future leaders. Their passion for their communities and readiness to do the hard work of racial justice are clear,” said Joel Motley, son of Judge Constance Baker Motley. These first 10 Scholars are exactly what our country needs in its next generation of civil rights lawyers. As my mother knew all too well and as we see still today, the struggle for justice is unrelenting. In the few months since LDF launched the MMSP, we have seen increasing attacks on civil and human rights – from voter suppression laws to the criminalization of the First Amendment right to protest. I am encouraged to know that these Scholars will carry on my mother’s work and represent communities in the South with pride, diligence, and the vision needed to reshape our nation.”
“I am excited to welcome the inaugural cohort of Marshall-Motley Scholars and to entrust them with this opportunity to preserve and expand LDF’s rich legacy of pursuing racial justice in the South on behalf of Black communities,” said Jino Ray, LDF’s Director of the Marshall-Motley Scholars Program. “The Scholars enter this stage following in the legacy of LDF’s 81-year-long history of monumental legal victories that removed some of the most significant structural and foundational barriers preventing progress for Black Americans—particularly in the South. Collectively, they bring with them passion and a bright light of hope that inspires us to reimagine what ‘liberty and justice for all’ could really look like in America. The Scholars also represent an opportunity to extend the fight for racial justice in the South to all corners of the region so that every community is equally represented.”
“I am so excited to see this inaugural cohort of Marshall-Motley Scholars. These 10 new future leaders will become leading civil right attorneys across the South and our nation dedicated to the fight for racial justice and equity,” said Columbia, South Carolina, mayor Steve Benjamin. “As we have seen this year, the rights and protections afforded Black communities are under a relentless wave of attacks, especially in the area of voting rights where a slew of voter suppression bills have been introduced, including here in South Carolina. We must redouble our efforts to provide the South with the legal minds needed to preserve and protect the rights of all Americans. In the spirit of Marshall, Motley, Julius Chambers and so many others, I am excited that the Scholars have joined this fight.”
Read the full press release and learn more about the inaugural MMSP cohort.