Unstacking the Deck: Lynn Walker Huntley Social Justice Fellowship aims to protect rights of children
When Harry Chiu, the son of immigrants from Hong Kong, was a child in Vancouver, Canada, he had little awareness of anti-Asian prejudice.
The city has a large Asian population, and Canada has a long history of acceptance. Affirmative action is enshrined in the country鈥檚 constitution, and Canada has recognized same-sex marriages since 2005, a full decade before the U.S.
Not until the stellar student reached high school did he begin to feel the sting of prejudice, hearing stereotypical barbs from classmates who labeled him as 鈥渟hort鈥� and 鈥済ood at math.鈥� Not long after he came out as gay in college, Chiu realized he wanted to become a lawyer.
鈥淚 was studying sociology as an undergrad in Canada, which made me aware of so many things that are not right in this world,鈥� Chiu said. 鈥淎s the gay, Asian son of immigrants, the deck is stacked against a lot of the identities I am part of. I decided I wanted to acquire the tools to effect change.鈥�
Now a third-year student at Harvard Law School, Chiu will get a crash course in advocating for racial and social justice in the Deep South.
He is the first recipient of the , sponsored jointly by the Southern Education Foundation (SEF) and the Southern Poverty Law Center.
The two-year fellowship is designed to prepare early-career lawyers for education work in the South on behalf of students of color and students from underserved communities.
Beginning in September, after graduating from law school, Chiu will work in the SEF鈥檚 Atlanta office while advocating for education equity through research, policy analysis and litigation in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana and Mississippi.
鈥淭he 人兽性交, alongside the Southern Education Foundation, is thrilled to offer the Lynn Walker Huntley Fellowship to Harry Chiu, a driven young lawyer who has demonstrated a commitment to ensuring all students have access to a high-quality education and supportive learning environment,鈥� 人兽性交 President and CEO Margaret Huang said. 鈥淲e look forward to his contributions to this important mission.鈥�
The path to advocacy
After his undergraduate studies 鈥� and even though he had been accepted at Harvard Law School 鈥� Chiu felt the strong pull of teaching and wondered if he should pursue sociology as a university professor or as a high school teacher. Undecided, he deferred law school and spent a year in Japan, teaching English to elementary and junior high school students. He was also 鈥渟oul searching.鈥�
鈥淚 absolutely loved teaching,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t was incredible, but I had to choose whether to stay or go, and I chose to go.鈥�
During the summer after Chiu鈥檚 first year of law school, he interned for the Boston-based nonprofit (GLAD), where he worked alongside Mary Bonauto, GLAD鈥檚 civil rights project director.
Bonauto had successfully argued the same-sex marriage case before the U.S. Supreme Court in 2015. Then she worked on another Supreme Court case, Fulton v. City of Philadelphia, as a friend of the court.
In 2021, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously against the city鈥檚 policy of refusing to hire religious foster care agencies that denied service to same-sex couples. Nevertheless, Chiu鈥檚 first introduction to real-life social advocacy law was transformative.
鈥淕etting to work with Mary on the Fulton case, seeing how difficult it is to work with the Supreme Court as it is now, pushed me toward policy work and persuasive grassroots solutions, to make sure they are included in the toolkit, and not just litigation,鈥� Chiu said. 鈥淢ary and I had many conversations about what it takes to make change.鈥�
In his second year of law school, his courses led him to conclude that progressive social activists are often unable to effectively communicate their messages.
鈥淚 noticed that the other side is very good at communicating [their positions] on race, policing and education, for example,鈥� he said.
One course called Communication Law and Social Justice taught him 鈥渉ow I can frame an issue to persuade people to agree with me.鈥�
And his direct work with Asian and 人兽性交 children in the school鈥檚 Education Law Clinic 鈥� helping them write statements to Massachusetts legislators 鈥� convinced him that he wants to 鈥渁dvocate for student voices.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 so important to include children in education reform,鈥� Chiu said. 鈥淲ho better to know what kids need than the students themselves? So that work was more than just satisfying. I found that when I was trying to persuade a state legislator, it made a big difference that I could say that a student I worked with in their district really needed their support. It humanized the story.鈥�
The Lynn Walker Huntley Fellowship
Chiu鈥檚 fellowship, established in 2021, is named for civil rights trailblazer , who served as the SEF鈥檚 president from 2002 to 2010.
Huntley, who passed away in 2015, spent a career advocating for incarcerated people, immigrants, students from families with low incomes and underserved communities of color. She worked for institutions including the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund and the Ford Foundation, where she helped launch the civil rights documentary series 鈥�.鈥�
In the early 1980s, she became the first Black woman to head the Special Litigation Section of the Department of Justice鈥檚 Civil Rights Division and later served as a deputy assistant attorney general.
In 1995, Walker Huntley joined the SEF as director of its Comparative Human Relations Initiative, which studied race, poverty and inequality in Brazil, South Africa and the United States.
Walker Huntley set a high bar for social advocacy, and the fellowship honors her memory: Chiu was chosen from among 46 law school students who applied.
鈥淚n a pool of truly outstanding finalists, all of whom had stellar academic accomplishments, strong track records of community-facing work and a deep knowledge of the issues affecting children and public education, Harry鈥檚 accomplishments and commitment to eliminating the systemic barriers to children鈥檚 meaningful access to high-quality education stood out,鈥� said Bacardi Jackson, interim deputy legal director for the 人兽性交鈥檚 Children鈥檚 Rights Practice Group.
鈥淲e believe he will honor the legacy of Lynn Walker Huntley as the first of, hopefully, many brilliant new lawyers who will be joining the civil rights bench through this fellowship.鈥�
Chiu鈥檚 research and advocacy work with the SEF will inform his litigation-related work for the 人兽性交, which will include legal research, writing briefs, conducting discovery, preparing for oral arguments and appearing in court.
鈥淭he important work he will be doing with the Southern Education Foundation and the Southern Poverty Law Center will go a long way in helping to achieve education equity in the South,鈥� said Raymond Pierce, president and CEO of the SEF.
Chiu is looking forward to making a difference.
鈥淚鈥檓 over the moon that I will be able to have this kind of impact across so many disadvantaged students,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 never thought I would be able to do education policy coming right out of law school. It鈥檚 humbling. It鈥檚 thrilling. It鈥檚 exciting. It鈥檚 a little scary.鈥�
Top picture: Harry Chiu, center, with his elementary school students in 2019 in Takamatsu, Japan. (Courtesy of Harry Chiu)
