Alston & Bird is proud to announce the selection of Michelle Mapp, a Juris Doctor candidate at the Charleston School of Law, as the recipient of the 2021 Alston & Bird Racial Justice Fund Equal Justice Works (EJW) Fellowship.
Created by the firm last year to support legal advocacy in the fight against racial injustice in the aftermath of George Floyd’s killing, the Alston & Bird Racial Justice Fund was designed to support an EJW Fellow pursuing a public service project that will have a deep and lasting impact on racial justice in partnership with a nonprofit host.
During her two-year fellowship, Mapp will work to prevent the eviction and displacement of low-income and Black households by advocating for the passage of a Tenant Right to Counsel law in South Carolina. In addition, she will seek to draw from and replicate aspects of the EJW Housing Justice Program, which mobilized a team of Fellows to serve low-income individuals residing in Richmond, VA, who experienced housing instability and involuntary displacement due to eviction.
Mapp’s project aligns with Alston & Bird’s long-standing pro bono and community service commitment to providing legal and other resources that protect the rights of individuals and families to help them become and remain securely housed. Alston & Bird is honored to support EJW and Mapp’s high-impact work around these important issues.
Equal Justice Works is a nonprofit organization and the nation’s largest facilitator of opportunities in public interest law. More than 85 percent of EJW Fellows remain in public service positions and continue to pursue equal justice for underserved communities following their fellowships.