Ifetayo Y. Belle
Host: New York Civil Liberties Union
Sponsor: Norflet Progress Fund
Mide Odunsi
- Hosted by NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc.
- Sponsored by Paul Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP
- Service location Washington, District of Columbia
- Law school Stanford Law School
- Issue area Civil Rights/Civil Liberties, Education/Special Education
- Fellowship class year 2024
- Program Design-Your-Own Fellowship
The Project
Mide’s (she/hers) project will dismantle barriers to an equitable and inclusive academic environment for Black students in the deep South.
The majority of Black students suspended in the United States attend school in just 13 southern states. Since 2020, 10 of those 13 states have passed bills restricting the teaching of race-related concepts. Millions of Black students across the country have had their educational journeys disrupted due to discriminatory educational policies and practices that push them out of the education system and erase the contributions and experiences of people of color.
Fellowship Plans
Mide will deploy a multi-pronged approach to combatting racial disparities in education and promoting a supportive school climate for southern Black students. This project will combine litigation, policy advocacy, and community education to protect the rights of Black students facing the dual harms of discriminatory discipline and exclusionary curricula.
Media
At a time when Black students' education access is once again under attack, through this project I will protect and defend their right to receive the quality education every student deserves.
Mide Odunsi /
2024 Equal Justice Works Fellow
Meet Other Fellows Like Mide
Samantha C. Pownall
Host: New York Civil Liberties Union
Sponsor: Bingham McCutchen LLP
Jason Langberg
Host: Advocates for Children's Services
Sponsor: Anonymous
Amy Magee
Host: Texas Civil Rights Project
Sponsor: Texas Equal Access to Justice Foundation