Marshall-Motley Scholars Program: Requirements and Opportunities for Aspiring Civil Rights Lawyers

The Marshall-Motley Scholars Program (MMSP) is a groundbreaking initiative designed to support aspiring civil rights lawyers committed to racial justice advocacy in Black communities in the South. Named in honor of civil rights pioneers Thurgood Marshall and Constance Baker Motley, the program addresses the financial barriers that often deter students from pursuing careers in civil rights law. The Legal Defense Fund (LDF) partners with the NAACP Legal Defense Fund (LDF) to promote the Marshall-Motley Scholars Program (MMSP). LDF is building on this legacy with the Marshall-Motley Scholars Program.

Program Overview

Launched in 2020, the MMSP aims to equip the South with a new generation of highly skilled civil rights lawyers dedicated to providing legal advocacy of unparalleled excellence in the pursuit of racial justice. Over the next five years, the MMSP will afford 50 aspiring civil rights lawyers: The program advances LDF’s mission to serve the legal needs of Black communities in the South, where racial injustice remains deeply rooted. This program 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.

Benefits of the MMSP

The MMSP offers comprehensive support to its scholars, including:

Full Law School Scholarship: Covers tuition, room, board, and incidentals, alleviating the debt burden that can prevent future lawyers from pursuing a career in racial justice.
Summer Internships: Provides opportunities at LDF and other national civil rights organizations with offices in the South, allowing scholars to begin their training as civil rights lawyers early in their law school careers.
Postgraduate Fellowship: Offers a two-year paid fellowship at a national, regional, or local civil rights organization with a racial justice law practice in the South.
Specialized Trainings: Grants access to special trainings sponsored by the LDF and the National Academy of Sciences.
Bar Exam Fees: Covers bar exam fees.
Reasonable cost of living: Offers a reasonable cost of living for room, board, and incidentals.

Scholar Commitments

In return for these benefits, Marshall-Motley Scholars commit to:

Serving as civil rights lawyers based in the South.
Engaging in a law practice focused on achieving racial justice for eight years following the conclusion of their fellowship.

Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible for the Marshall-Motley Scholars Program, applicants must meet the following criteria:

Hold a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university.
Be admitted, or expect to be admitted, to an ABA-accredited law school as a first-year, full-time law student. Part-time law students are not eligible for the program at this time. The program is designed to support the development of aspiring lawyers who are admitted, or expect to be admitted, to an ABA-accredited law school as a first-year, full-time law student. However, please visit Fellowships & Internships to learn more about other LDF opportunities for which you may be eligible.
Be eligible to work in the United States.
Intend to pursue a career in Civil Rights law, and, if awarded, will work full-time in pursuit of racial justice in a southern state for a period of 8 years immediately following the fellowship portion of the MMSP.
Be able to describe in their application their sustained personal engagement in Civil Rights and racial justice in one or more of the following areas:
- Work/Internship
- Academic/Coursework
- Campus Organizations
- Community-based Organizations
- Volunteer
- Research

Specific Eligibility Details

Citizenship: US citizens or students with permanent resident status who are admitted to an ABA-approved law school as first-year and full-time law students for the fall 2025 academic year.
GPA and LSAT Scores: There are no minimum GPA or LSAT score requirements.
Law School Acceptance: Applicants do not have to be accepted into law school at the time of submission; however, if selected as a finalist, applicants will be required to provide proof of acceptance. Applicants do not need to designate the law school they will be attending at the time of application. Many applicants may not be admitted to law school at the time they submit their MMSP application. However, all applicants that are selected to participate in the MMSP are required to demonstrate admission and plans to enroll at an ABA-accredited law school prior to receiving any program funds.
Full-time Enrollment: Eligibility is limited to students beginning law school as first-year, full-time law students. Law students who have completed one or more semesters of law school or who intend to defer enrollment are not eligible.
Recommendation Letters: Applicants can use recommendation letters from their LSAC account. However, all MMSP Letters of Recommendation must be submitted by the recommender through the MMSP Applicant portal. The recommender may submit a duplicate of the letter submitted to LSAC. MMSP recommenders must use the MMSP portal to directly upload Letters of Recommendations even if they have previously been submitted to LSAC.

Selection Criteria

The MMSP seeks scholars who demonstrate the following qualities:

Purposeful & Committed: A deep passion for racial justice and a strong commitment to pursuing the practice of civil rights law. We want to understand why you care deeply about racial justice and why you are committed to pursuing the practice of civil rights law.
Resilient: The ability to foresee challenges, respond to them effectively, and bounce back from setbacks. We want to understand how you foresee challenges, respond to them, and bounce back from them.
Prepared to Lead: Unique qualities and skills that equip them to take on a substantial leadership role in the world. We want to understand how you are uniquely equipped to take on such a substantial leadership role in the world.
Connected: A demonstrated commitment to working on issues of racial justice and equality and an interest in working in the South. We want aspiring lawyers who have a demonstrated commitment to working on issues of racial justice and equality and who have an interest in working in the South.

Application Procedure

A complete application package should be completed online and will include the following components:

Contact and Demographic Information
Personal Statement
Essays (2)
Undergraduate Transcript(s)
Résumé
LSAT or GRE Report
3 Letters of Recommendation

Key Dates

January 18, 2021 - Application Opens
February 16, 2021 - Application Deadline (5 PM EST)
February/March - Phase 1 Review and Semifinalists Selected
March 29 - Phase 2 Materials Due (Semifinalists)
March/April - Phase 2 Review and Finalists Selected
April/May - Finalist Interviews
Eary May - Scholars Announced

Examples of Marshall-Motley Scholars

The Marshall-Motley Scholars Program has already supported numerous outstanding individuals committed to racial justice. Here are some examples from the fifth cohort of Marshall-Motley Scholars:

Jayla Allen: A third-generation Texan, Jayla aims to continue her lifelong commitment to racial justice through civil rights law, motivated by personal experiences of losing loved ones to racist violence and police brutality. Jayla recently served as the Restorative Justice Practice Program Coordinator, overseeing programming at CUNY’s Macaulay Honors College. Jayla’s commitment to civic engagement began during her undergraduate years as a Deputy Voter Registrar, and she later became the lead plaintiff in Allen v. Waller, a Legal Defense Fund lawsuit protecting Black voters’ rights in Waller County, Texas-continuing a fight that spans three generations of her family.
Maisie Brown: A native of Mississippi, Maisie currently serves as Advocacy and Outreach Coordinator at Mississippi Votes, where she manages policy portfolios focused on reproductive rights, education, housing, and economic justice. Maisie’s dedication to serving her community inspired her to found the Mississippi Student Water Crisis Advocacy Team, which provided clean water to over 1,100 underserved individuals during the Jackson water crisis. She also led 601 for Period Equity Central Mississippi, the region’s first abortion collective fund and caravan post-Roe, while donating 1,500 feminine hygiene products to incarcerated women and distributing 2,000 care packages to Black and Brown menstruators across the state.
Ryan Doherty: A native of Charlottesville, Virginia, Ryan plans to combine his passion for learning history with legal advocacy to address the lasting system effects of slavery and Jim Crow. As Vice President of the University of Richmond NAACP Chapter, Ryan led voter registration drives and worked on creating an additional support structure for marginalized students. Ryan has also worked on a collaborative project with Professor Sandy Williams IV called the ’40 Acres’ Archive, which seeks to reshape the way that we understand our collective history by unveiling forgotten moments in America’s past, such as Virginia Beach’s history as a sundown town and freedmen camps throughout Virginia and D.C.
Kiersten Hash: A native of Charlotte, North Carolina, Kiersten’s commitment to advocacy is evident through her role as CEO and founder of Queens for Change, an organization that has supported over 100 girls in Charlotte through panel discussions, service projects, and a CROWN Act advocacy campaign, successfully implementing a natural hair policy for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. At Harvard, she served as Director of Diversity and Engagement at the Harvard Institute of Politics, Co-Chair of Harvard Undergraduate Black Community Leaders, and Political Action Chair for the Harvard Generational African American Students Association.
Channing Hill: A native of Euless, Texas, Channing’s leadership during the 34-day #BlackburnTakeover protest in 2021 at Howard University brought national attention to housing inequities affecting HBCU students and demonstrated her ability to navigate complex negotiations while advocating for systemic change. Previously, Channing served as an Organizing Fellowship Coach with Get Free Movement and as Administrative Manager at Youth Advocate Programs. As co-founder of the Youth Never Let Up Coalition, she has mobilized young activists to raise awareness about prosecutorial inaction in civil rights cases, including the murder of Emmett Till.
Akheem Mitchell: A native of Florida, Akheem seeks to leverage his exceptional leadership abilities and unwavering dedication to racial equity, to dismantle systemic racism throughout the South. During his undergraduate career, Akheem merged his passion for advocacy with his education, to strategically produce initiatives amplifying Black student voices. He distinguished himself as the first Black Student Body President in the institution’s history.
Khya Nelson: A Florida native, Khya aspires to use her legal education to continue advocating for food security and racial equity in the South. Formerly serving as a Legislative Aide to Congresswoman Lois Frankel, Khya has introduced bipartisan legislation, handled multi-million-dollar appropriations requests, and advanced policy initiatives addressing agriculture, justice, science, and women’s rights. Khya’s dedication to addressing food insecurity is evidenced through her work with Impact Food Services Group, where she expanded access to fresh food in underserved communities and coordinated payment options to include EBT cards.
Romello Robinson: A graduate of the University of Georgia, Romello aims to leverage his legal education to ensure emerging technologies comply with civil rights laws rather than perpetuate racial inequities. His vision is to build a career challenging systemic discrimination in the South, particularly focusing on how technological innovations can either harm or empower Black communities. Romello’s professional experience includes his work as a Financial Program Analyst at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), where he analyzed consumer complaints related to advanced technology, identifying how technology disproportionately impacts Black communities along with other vulnerable communities.
Kayla Sibble: A Jamaica native by way of Florida, Kayla embodies a deep commitment to advancing racial justice and supporting Black communities in the South. Kayla has developed a venture proposal for “Right Insight,” a nonprofit initiative to provide technology, legal literacy, and curriculum resources to predominantly Black Title I schools. Kayla’s research on “The History of Black Experience in Alachua County,” and her work as a Graham Civic Scholar Researcher exploring the correlation between race and abortion opinions, demonstrate her scholarly commitment to understanding systemic inequalities.
Liyu Woldemichael: Born in Ethiopia and raised in Montgomery, Alabama, Liyu currently serves as Staff Expert on Housing Policy for Alameda County, California, leading research efforts for the county’s Reparations Commission and advancing tenant protections. During her time at Duke, she led initiatives assisting over 300 incarcerated individuals in Durham County Jail to receive stimulus checks and register to vote during the 2020 election and served as an undergraduate representative on Duke’s Racial Equity Advisory Council, helping shape the university’s anti-racism commitments.

The Importance of Access to Law School

The MMSP recognizes that when people from a wide range of backgrounds add their views and experiences to our legal system, that system becomes more able to provide justice to all our communities. Access and Community in Law School Finding the Right School Whether you’re interested in a career in civil rights law or some other area of the legal system, it’s important to select a law school that can best support your legal education journey. 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.

The Legal Defense Fund (LDF)

Founded in 1940, the Legal Defense Fund (LDF) is the nation’s first civil rights law organization. LDF’s Thurgood Marshall Institute is a multi-disciplinary and collaborative hub within LDF that launches targeted campaigns and undertakes innovative research to shape the civil rights narrative. Through litigation, advocacy, and public education, LDF seeks structural changes to expand democracy, eliminate disparities, and achieve racial justice in a society that fulfills the promise of equality for all Americans. Named in honor of civil rights legends Thurgood Marshall - LDF's founder and the nation’s first Black Supreme Court Justice - and Constance Baker Motley, former LDF attorney and the first Black woman to become a federal judge, the MMSP will create pathways to leadership, self-sufficiency, and socio-economic progress, while developing individuals to become ambassadors and advocates for transformational change in Black communities in the South.

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