Suggs Selected for NAACP Fellowship
Jessica Schweer
Issue date: 8/31/04 Section: News
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) chose seven law students from across the country to join its 2004 Law Fellow Program, and George Mason Law's Qualahnia Suggs (3D) was invited to participate. Suggs was selected from approximately 100 applicants to work with the NAACP during a two-month summer fellowship.
The NAACP Law Fellow Program, initiated in 2003, is designed to provide students with an opportunity to work at both its National Legal Department headquarters in Baltimore, Maryland, and at the organization's Washington Bureau. Speaking about the program in a press release, NAACP General Counsel and Secretary, Dennis Hayes, said, "The NAACP gives law students the opportunity to advocate for social justice in a unique manner that can't always be accomplished in corporate or government work. Participating in the NAACP Law Fellowship allows law students to continue this arduous, yet important work." The NAACP partners with the Kellogg Corporate Citizen Fund (KCCF) to offer the program.
During her time at the Baltimore headquarters, Suggs worked with civil rights attorneys on client issues, organizational issues, and educational issues pertaining to the NAACP's areas of concern, including criminal justice, housing, voting rights, civil rights violations and environmental justice. Suggs was the only fellow who requested an opportunity to work at the Washington Bureau, because she is "very interested in judicial nominations and wanted to be close to Capitol Hill to view what was happening first hand."
While in Washington, Suggs worked for Hilary O. Shelton, the director of the NAACP Washington Bureau's Legislative Mobilization Unit. She focused her attention on judicial nominations and current legislative matters. She attended judicial nomination hearings and wrote a report on the legislative aspects of the No Child Left Behind Act. Suggs also assisted with collecting data and compiling survey results concerning minority representation in federal clerkships. She found that the low representation of minorities in these positions resulted from a low number of minority applications. Based on this research, efforts will focus on boosting application rates.
The NAACP Law Fellow Program, initiated in 2003, is designed to provide students with an opportunity to work at both its National Legal Department headquarters in Baltimore, Maryland, and at the organization's Washington Bureau. Speaking about the program in a press release, NAACP General Counsel and Secretary, Dennis Hayes, said, "The NAACP gives law students the opportunity to advocate for social justice in a unique manner that can't always be accomplished in corporate or government work. Participating in the NAACP Law Fellowship allows law students to continue this arduous, yet important work." The NAACP partners with the Kellogg Corporate Citizen Fund (KCCF) to offer the program.
During her time at the Baltimore headquarters, Suggs worked with civil rights attorneys on client issues, organizational issues, and educational issues pertaining to the NAACP's areas of concern, including criminal justice, housing, voting rights, civil rights violations and environmental justice. Suggs was the only fellow who requested an opportunity to work at the Washington Bureau, because she is "very interested in judicial nominations and wanted to be close to Capitol Hill to view what was happening first hand."
While in Washington, Suggs worked for Hilary O. Shelton, the director of the NAACP Washington Bureau's Legislative Mobilization Unit. She focused her attention on judicial nominations and current legislative matters. She attended judicial nomination hearings and wrote a report on the legislative aspects of the No Child Left Behind Act. Suggs also assisted with collecting data and compiling survey results concerning minority representation in federal clerkships. She found that the low representation of minorities in these positions resulted from a low number of minority applications. Based on this research, efforts will focus on boosting application rates.