From Selma, Alabama, to Cape Town, South Africa: Recent graduate spends summer exploring social justice on two continents

By E. Alan Brock J.D. ’17/LL.M. ’18

I have spent the past four years studying at Stetson, earning my J.D. and LL.M. in International Law, and along the way, I have developed my advocacy skills, made great friends, and seen the world. Stetson has provided me with more opportunities than I had ever imagined. When I first applied here, I knew I’d receive an excellent legal education and an edge as an attorney, but the opportunities to expand my legal training internationally has exceeded all of my expectations. This summer, once again studying in the field and abroad, has been an amazing capstone to my time at Stetson Law.

This summer took all of the concepts I have learned and brought them into focus. I saw how people here, and around the world, use their legal training to further the cause of justice. When Stetson announced an opportunity to study international human rights in Cape Town in July of 2018, I knew I wanted to be a part of the inaugural class. This program combined my international law studies with the social justice work I undertook before law school. I also participated in Stetson’s Law and the Civil Rights Movement course this past June. And although unconventional, I am grateful that the school allowed me to arrange my schedule to delay my graduation until August and have an impactful and amazing summer of experiences.

Law and the Civil Rights Movement

This course is a joint experiential learning course that began over 10 years ago as a passion project of Professor of Law Emeritus Robert Bickel, continued by Assistant Dean of Student Affairs Tammy Briant, and Professor Gregg Sapp.  The course begins with two weeks of classroom studies, followed by a week of travel to sites known for their role in America’s civil rights struggle. Students gain a firsthand understanding of where, and how, major civil rights actions took place throughout the south.

Every year, the course is unique. The program includes in-person meetings with civil rights leaders, past and present. From meeting the people active in the movement during the tumultuous 1960s to those who fight for civil rights today, firsthand experiences provide invaluable insights into the struggles for equality and justice. This summer marked 50 years since the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. and was the first program to be offered since the opening of the National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, Alabama. The monument has several parts, but the visual centerpiece and most impactful is the collection of columns hang from the ceiling of the monument. Each column represents a county with a documented racial terror lynching. The column records the name(s) and dates of the victims. Some 800 columns hang in silence.  Nearby, in the EJI Legacy Museum, a jar of soil stands as a monument to each individual lynching, with the soil collected from the site where it took place. The museum details the ongoing struggle for civil rights in America today.

I found this memorial to be the most emotionally moving and impactful part of the course.  The physical manifestation — so solemnly vast — of the casually accepted atrocities of our past provided a heart-wrenching testament to where we have been as a country.  When viewed in concert with the museum, which detailed the accepted and ongoing disparities of the criminal justice system, I felt angry, sad, and anxious to find solutions. The major advantage of this course is students gain a deep awareness of the current civil rights struggles going on throughout the U.S. of which they might otherwise only have a passing awareness.

It is easy for a law student born in the late 1990s to feel like the years of segregation and discrimination are far behind us as a nation.  It is true that the U.S. has made huge strides towards equality, but it is also true that we have a long way to go. The students in this program come from a variety of backgrounds and have varied interests. But these few weeks present a safe space for the students to share their perspectives and personal life experiences while broadening their perspectives. Meeting the civil rights heroes from years past provides a real connection to the civil rights struggle in our country, and frames the current inequality issues in a deeper, richer context. It allows us to examine the disparities in the criminal justice system more critically, with a foundation that helps us as law students to better understand how, and why, the system was created. This understanding allows us to start working towards a better, more equal, criminal justice system for the future.

One of the heroes that we, as students, were privileged to have along with us on the traveling portion of the class was Mr. Ernest “Rip” Patton. Mr. Patton traveled with us for most of the trip, retracing the path that he took as Freedom Rider in 1961 when he was a student at Tennessee State University.  He organized a group of fellow freedom riders and hosted the students at Woolworth’s in Nashville, home to the infamous sit-ins when the black students worked to integrate the stores.  There, he invited in his peers who had participated in the sit-ins with him. We had the chance to speak with these individuals, who risked everything to help bring about a better version of the United States, and hear from them about their experiences.

Mr. Patton is still working to promote equality and reform the criminal justice system.  He took time to speak most of the students along on the trip, shared his personal contact information, and continues to keep up with the students well after the trip has ended.  This personal connection helps continue the effort he started over 50 years ago, and inspires so many of us to continue the fight. It is hard to imagine someone meeting a Freedom Rider and then not working to do all they can to continue that effort.

One of the students on the trip this summer was rising 3L, Assista Toure. She is also the incoming president of the Black Law Students Association.  Toure said she believes the civil rights course was one of the most impactful courses she has taken while at Stetson.

“A lot of the information we learned in the in-class portion was not new to me, but the travel portion really drew an intense emotional reaction out of me. I found myself crying at how impactful some of the museums were,” said Toure. “Having the opportunity to speak to the many people who were alive during that time and seeing the evidence left behind from that horrific era really touched me in a way that is almost unexplainable.”

Nothing can truly prepare you for a week of visits to places like the 16th Street Baptist Church, where a bomb killed four little girls, or to walk out of Selma over the Edmund Pettus Bridge, where demonstrators were attacked trying to bring an end to segregation. As the week of travel concluded, we students were a closer group of friends, and our commitment to social justice was strengthened.

With this empowered feeling, I flew back to Tampa, did my laundry, and headed to the airport to catch my flight to South Africa.

Cape Town and International Human Rights

Stetson’s inaugural Cape Town study abroad program sought to educate, inform, and create a better understanding of the world of international human rights in the context of South Africa’s evolution from apartheid to democracy. I believe that the program exceeded this goal, inspiring 23 students and changing their lives forever.

The program attracted a diverse group of students from Stetson Law and law schools across the U.S.  The mix of law students from other schools expanded networking opportunities and the intensity of the program built a camaraderie that binds people together and makes for fast friends.

Assistant Dean of International Programs JR Swanegan noted that the students seemed genuinely interested in cultural immersion, and learning from the professors, guest lecturers and cultural experiences. This year would have been Nelson Mandela’s 100th birthday.  The whole country is celebrating him and his legacy.  This, combined with Cape Town’s shared cultural ties with the common law system, the English language, and its diversity, made it ideal for a comparative law course that expands and builds off of Stetson’s existing social justice course offerings.

While professors from the partner schools are invited to teach at the international programs, there is always at least one class taught by one of Stetson’s law professors.  In Cape Town this year, the Stetson professor was one of Stetson’s most popular professors, Ellen Podgor.

As a great admirer of Nelson Mandela and his efforts to end the injustice of Apartheid, South Africa has long been a place that Gary R. Trombley White-Collar Crime Research Professor Ellen Podgor has wanted to visit.  When she learned about the new program, she designed a class on Mandela and international human rights that would serve as a cornerstone for this summer program.  Her class focused on how the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights inspired Mandela, and how through his work he managed to take that declaration and expand upon it – providing modern South Africa with one of the most progressive and inclusive constitutions in the world.

“The students have so much passion and a genuine eagerness to learn about the South African struggle,” said Professor Podgor. “I believe that their time in South Africa will give them a better perspective on justice and make them better attorneys overall.”

Mandela’s influence is still felt in Cape Town. The whole country is celebrating Mandela’s 100th birthday. He also was a motivating factor for many of the students who chose to participate in the Cape Town study abroad program.

“Growing up in the U.S., I always heard about the struggles of South Africa and how iconic Nelson Mandela was,” said Stetson LL.M. student Salah M. Muhammad. “To be able to visit the country that everybody was always talking about or to see the place that was always in the news stories was truly a blessing.”

As a group of students, we toured Robben Island, and the prison where Mandela and his comrades were held prisoner. We also all attended a special production of the “Nelson Mandela Trilogy,” a musical about Mandela’s life story.

Nelson Mandela was a man who managed to change his corner of the world for the better. Twenty-seven years after he was released from prison, he would recommit to the struggle when he was finally free in the community again. Mandela’s commitment to justice and equality above all else is inspirational. After 27 years in prison he chose not to pursue revenge, but instead focused on truth and reconciliation. This has allowed his country to start to build an integrated community. South African democracy is still young, but it is still working.  It is hard to give proper weight to interacting and learning from the local South Africans.

“What we learned in history class doesn’t really begin to scratch the surface of what really happened here, and what we hear on the news today is sugarcoated,” said LL.M. student Jennifer Binder. “We don’t really hear about the struggles such as redistribution of land and how it might affect the country as a whole, or that not every South African wants redistribution. What we learned during this study abroad session are things that cannot be learned any way other than being here and seeing it firsthand.”

Personally, the most anticipated field trip for myself and most of the students was our trip to Robben Island.  It is a short ferry ride from Cape Town, through ice cold seal and shark infested waters, to reach the island. Once there, we were all surprised at how much bigger the island was than we had anticipated, but after the tour of the outskirts of the island by bus, we were dropped at the infamous prison gates. There we were met by a former prisoner of Robben Island and taken on a personalized tour of the facilities. The cells were incredibly tiny. The prisoners were kept there without many of the most basic amenities that one would expect. It is hard to imagine how anyone coming out of these sparse conditions would possess the capacity for forgiveness or reconciliation.

Another cultural trip that has to be experienced to be appreciated was our visit to the Langa Township outside of Cape Town. In the early 1900’s, prior to apartheid, this was where all black people residing around Cape Town were required to move and live. This rule became stricter after the South African government passed the Group Areas Act in 1950, and apartheid became the law of the land.

The Group Areas Act required everyone be classified by race: White, Black, or Coloured.  The disparity of wealth within the township is evident. Some people live in brick homes with all the modern conveniences, while others were living in tin buildings without running water. We were given a tour by a local Khosa man who grew up in Langa. He shared with us his personal perspective and experiences growing up in this community and segregated environment. Despite the institutionalized racism they continue to struggle to overcome, these are a proud people. It was moving to hear their personal accounts, knowing these challenges would surely destroy lesser people.

Stetson 3L Sy-Woei Hao said upon arriving in Cape Town, “Everything almost seemed too modernized to fit my idea of Africa. However, as I began exploring the city, the mirage of westernization became an attempt rather than actuality. You come here being told that there was going to be a social gap between the people here, but you can never prepare yourself for the extremes. Even within the township, there were people fortunate enough to live in government- rebuilt living structures, yet others remained in small, metal-sheet houses, with sides cluttered with random belongings and trash.”

Hao encouraged others to study abroad in South Africa given the opportunity. “Capetonians have been among one of the proudest people I have ever met,” said Hao. “They are proud to be who they are and they proud to tell the stories of who they are.”

Stetson scheduled a prestigious slate of guest speakers throughout the semester. These included the University of Cape Town Law School Dean, diplomats, and social justice leaders from the local area and some from the United States. Most notably, Florida Supreme Court Justice Peggy Quince spoke to the class. Quince is a member of the Stetson Law Hall of Fame and served as a longtime member of the Board of Overseers.

Justice Quince joined the trip for the first two weeks, participating with the students and all of their activities. She rode the bus to class every morning, participated and learned alongside the students. Justice Quince explained, “My friend asked me why I was sitting in the classrooms, and I told her it is because I am learning too.”

“I know that I will be a better attorney because of my time in South Africa and with Justice Quince,” said rising 3L and SBA vice-president Jennifer Winn. “Having the chance to become friends with a justice was an unexpected treat, and it is an invaluable experience.”

Justice Quince presented to the class on her experiences as a Florida Supreme Court justice and the path she took to becoming a justice. She compared and contrasted her life story with what we were all learning about South Africa, that the summer’s theme of equality and justice.

Justice Quince was born in Virginia. She grew up and was educated in a segregated school system. It would not be until 1965, during her senior year of high school, when Virginia finally integrated its schools. After high school, she enrolled in Howard University, a historically black university located in Washington, D.C. She went on to enroll at the Catholic University of America for law school, and this was the first time that as a black woman she had ever been a minority student. Later, she would move to Florida with her husband to begin working for the Florida Attorney General’s office, which would lead to her appointment to the Florida Supreme Court.

Her path to the bench, growing up in rural, segregated, Virginia, gave her an interesting perspective on apartheid in South Africa.  She made a point to make sure that our class understood that American segregation was the model for apartheid. She shared that when she travels alone from Tampa to Tallahassee, there are still places in our state where she feels unsafe stopping as a black woman. She also was clear that, although both our countries have further to go to reach our ideal societies, she is glad that America has overcome many of the issues still faced by South Africa.

“I want the current, future, and past Stetson students to know that these trips are once in a lifetime,” said LL.M. student Muhammad. “The rich cultural experiences immersed in both programs is something that you cannot get out of a textbook or sitting in a classroom. You get to actually meet the people who participated in the sit ins, who were out marching and protesting, and who did hard time in internment camps such as Robben Island.”

My study abroad experiences have always given me a new and broader perspective on our own legal system, but the transition from Selma, Alabama, to Cape Town, South Africa, really accentuates our own strengths and weaknesses.  I am pleased with how far our country has come but committed to working to keep our country moving forward.

I started this school year expecting to graduate at the end of May, with my peers. Instead, I found myself in an immersive social justice education experience. While Stetson has prepared me well for my future career goals, this summer provided me with insight into the ongoing struggle for social justice in America.