Author: Tony Sierzega LAW '18

Learning to be a Social Justice Lawyer in Trump’s America

“No martyr is among ye now Whom you can call your own So go on your way accordingly But know you’re not alone” – Bob Dylan, “I Dreamed I Saw St. Augustine” During my first class after Donald Trump’s victory, several friends and classmates posed heartbreaking questions: How can we be social justice lawyers in a country which has validated a campaign where racist and misogynistic sentiments were expressed?  Or after an election where many were so apathetic toward justice that they stayed home? We further questioned what the fight for social justice would even look like in the United States and how we, or anyone, could have the strength to do this work in a world where it no longer seemed to matter. So far, the only answer to these questions I have found has been in the strength and courage of the students in that classroom and in the wisdom and drive that I have found in my clinic partners and professors. At this moment, we feel scared and alone, but in time …