The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund launched a program with the generous donation.
Published January 21st
Written by Paul Meara
Thanks to an incredibly generous anonymous donation of $40 million, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund is using the money to support a new generation of civil rights lawyers.
On Monday (January 18), the program was announced and is dedicated to pursuing racial justice across the South by putting 50 students through law schools nationwide. The scholarships require that the future lawyers commit to eight years of racial justice work in the South, starting with a two-year post-graduate fellowship in a civil rights organization.
Image: NAACP Logo (ABC News) —ATLANTA — The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund launched a $40 million scholarship program on Monday to support a new generation of civil rights lawyers, dedicated to pursuing racial justice across the South. With that whopping gift from a single anonymous donor, the fund plans to put 50 students through law schools around the.
The LDF’s mission is to “achieve racial justice, equality, and an inclusive society.” The organization says it works to protect voting rights, ensure equal access to education, and policing and criminal justice fairness.
“While without question we are in a perilous moment in this country, we are also in a moment of tremendous possibility, particularly in the South,” Ifill added. “The elements for change are very much present in the South, and what needs to be strengthened is the capacity of lawyering.”
The fund will be named the Marshall-Motley Scholars Program after former Supreme Court Justice
Thurgood Marshall, and
Constance Baker Motley, the first Black female federal judge.
Motley also served as Marshall’s law clerk in the Brown v. Board of Education case.
Today, we are proud to announce the groundbreaking #MarshallMotleyScholars Program, an innovative educational opportunity that will produce the next generation of civil rights attorneys in the South. https://t.co/ixODtuXnX6