MLAC created the Racial Justice Fellowship in 2006 to expand the reach of legal aid to communities that have difficulty accessing the justice system due to linguistic or cultural barriers.

The goal of the Fellowship is to use systemic advocacy and other strategies to address pervasive problems of racial injustice, given the disproportionately high rate of poverty among communities of color (an estimated 43 percent of all individuals in poverty in Massachusetts) and the unmet legal needs of these communities.

The Racial Justice Fellowship is a two-year position and is available to MLAC-funded and Legal Services Corporation-funded legal aid programs in Massachusetts. Below are the names of the current and previous Racial Justice Fellows, as well as a summary of the current Fellow's project.

For more information on the Racial Justice Fellowship, contact Program Director Pat Swansey at pswansey@mlac.org.

2008 Racial Justice Fellow
The Racial Justice Fellowship for fiscal year 2008 was awarded to South Coastal Counties Legal Services (SCCLS). Attorney Ron Traylor is staffing the position. Representing SCCLS and the Center for Law and Education (CLE), Traylor is working to combat the use of “alternative” schools as dumping grounds for children of color. The project builds on the efforts of both SCCLS and CLE to advance school reform at a high school in Brockton that has a history of punitive discipline and poor teaching. There, students’ educational outcomes are dismal: 80 percent fail the MCAS and 25 percent drop out annually. Traylor is collaborating with parents and students to initiate school reform and also is partnering with school administrators to develop and enforce educational standards that keep children in traditional classrooms.