The Black Lives Matter movement has gone nationwide, sitting right at the intersection of issues involving race, policing, and the criminal justice system. Dr. Levy-Pounds has graciously agreed to speak at the University of Chicago Law School about the movement, especially in light of the troubling shootings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile this summer, which simply stand as prominent examples of many similar, less reported examples. Defenders and BLSA hope to bring the discussion of police violence against minority communities to the forefront and hope that everyone at the law school will join us in doing so.

Dr. Nekima Levy-Pounds is a civil rights attorney, freedom fighter, legal scholar, blogger, and nationally recognized expert on issues at the intersections of race, public policy, economic justice, public education, juvenile justice, and the criminal justice system. In 2016, she received the Distinguished Service Award from the Governor's Commission on Martin Luther King Day. In 2015, she was named one of “40 Under 40” by Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal. In 2014, she was named a “Minnesota Attorney of the Year” by Minnesota Lawyer and recognized as one of “50 Under 50 Most Influential Law Professors of Color in the Country” by Lawyers of Color magazine. She currently serves as the President of the Minneapolis NAACP and as an advisor to Black Lives Matter Minneapolis.