New FSU Law Racial Justice Advocacy Fund Supports Students
Our Public Interest Law Center as well as our criminal law- and civil rights-focused
programs already serve as a pipeline for students to fight for racial justice.
With private financial support, we can expand the number of students in these programs.
Pictured in 2019 are students from the Gender and Family Justice Clinic,
with the clinic's director, Professor Carla Laroche.
The FSU College of Law continues its commitment to racial equity with a new Racial Justice Advocacy Fund. Recent killings of Black and Brown Americans and subsequent protests have highlighted the unequal and unevenly distributed justice that pervades our country through voting rights, access to employment, housing, lending and education. Through the Racial Justice Advocacy Fund, established by FSU Law alumnus Bruce Wiener (’93), a member of the law school’s Board of Visitors, students at the FSU College of Law can receive financial support as they help stem the tide of systemic racism.
Law students focused on improving racial disparity can apply for stipends that will offset the cost of what is usually unpaid work in the areas of the law that are crucial to creating a more equitable society. Students will participate in externships, internships and programs in areas where racial injustice has been most prevalent. Examples include the Public Defender’s Office and racial equality focused work with organizations such as the NAACP, Color of Change, The Innocence Project, and the National Urban League, among others, to effect change through our courts, trial work and advocacy. The Racial Justice Advocacy Fund will also support our student fellows participating in the efforts of the new Florida Law Schools Consortium for Racial Justice, which FSU Law joined this summer with the 11 other Florida law schools.
“One of the best things we can do now is invest in real change agents, our future attorneys,” said Wiener. “The success of this fund will require a collective effort of law firms and attorneys, with so many already stepping up to raise awareness and help further the college’s commitment to making positive change.”
Law firms wishing to donate to the Racial Justice Advocacy Fund can contact FSU Law Director of Development Hovik Arakelian at 850.644.6357 or harakeli@law.fsu.edu. Or firms can donate directly online.
Published on November 13, 2020