I often get asked what brought me from Alabama to Michigan. Growing up in Dothan, a town nestled in the hotbed of the Civil Rights Movement and dubbed the “Peanut Capital of the World,” it might seem strange that I found myself just shy of 1,000 miles north of home.
I first became interested in politics and law during my time at Auburn University. Former Auburn President Dr. Jay Gogue recognized this interest and, in 2017, selected me as a Newman Civic Fellow. As a fellow, my interactions with Dr. Gogue, an Auburn and Michigan State University alumnus, as well as my mentor, MSU alumna Shelia Smoot, spurred my desire to become a Spartan.
They say lightning rarely strikes twice, but I was lucky enough that it did for me in the U.S. Senate. I began my career working for Alabama Senator Doug Jones – a former U.S. attorney who successfully prosecuted the men who carried out the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing – and later served in Georgia Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock’s office drafting policy. These experiences cemented my law school dreams.
Just over a year in, MSU has already provided me with so many incredible opportunities – serving as law clerk for the Office of the General Counsel (OCG). This experience allowed me to draw from both my time in Congress and my 1L year to research how MSU implements its Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act. The highlight of my time in the OGC’s office was meeting with MSU President Kevin M. Guskiewicz where he shared his vision for the future of MSU.
To round out the summer, I headed to the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. There, I heard speakers, including our very own MSU Law alumni, Governor Gretchen Whitmer, and my former boss, Senator Warnock, talk about the hope and future of our country. While there, I had the honor of meeting President Bill Clinton, Stevie Wonder (a Saginaw native!) and Oprah Winfrey. But perhaps the most memorable moment was when I spoke with Secretary Hillary Clinton and thanked her for her work as a young attorney during the early 1970s in my hometown of Dothan investigating segregation academies, important legal advocacy reflective of the type of work I would like to do after law school.
Undoubtedly, the most poignant moment of the convention was witnessing Vice President Harris accept the Democratic Presidential nomination. Seeing her stand on that stage, I could not help but think of the influential Black women in my own life — such as my mother, grandmothers, sisters, aunts, teachers and mentors — who have fought for justice and equity. I thought of the giants of the movement, like Fannie Lou Hammer, Shirley Chisolm, Amelia Boynton Robinson, whose tireless efforts paved the way for this historic moment. To see their dreams and struggles culminate in the possibility of a Black woman holding the most powerful office in the world was a joyous reminder of all they have overcome.
I was also reminded of when I escorted Senator Warnock’s mother to the Senate floor for one of his speeches. To witness a former sharecropper watch her son address the nation as Georgia’s first Black senator still gives me chills. I like to think that the pride and joy she felt was the same pride and joy felt by women of color across our nation when the vice president accepted the nomination.
Since then, I am excited get entrenched in my courses like Law and Gender and Law of American Chattel Slavery, which bring to the forefront the legal barriers and challenges that had to be overcome before a major political party nominated a Black woman for president or before the child of sharecroppers would become the first Black U.S. senator from Georgia. These are the types of systemic and legal issues that I plan to address as a future Spartan lawyer.
Sometimes Michigan feels a world away from Alabama — like when I’m making my grocery runs at Meijer instead of Piggly Wiggly — but I have learned there are many ties that bind the two places I call home. This summer I saw those shared values on full display from Dothan to Lansing to Chicago. True to my Southern roots, I am accepting all recommendations for where to get the best sweet tea in Michigan.