Author: rkorgood

I have learned so much this summer–about judicial nominations, of course, but also about working in advocacy and all of the options that are available to me. Social justice work is more layered and diverse than I had ever dreamed of. I could never have imagined I’d meet so many people at different organizations who were all working on judicial nominations, for example. Being in DC has given me the opportunity to learn that I both don’t need to have it figured out yet, and that I can take everything I’ve done and still do so much more.

At Alliance for Justice, I got to work with a great, outgoing team that exemplified everything I would want in a workplace. We brainstormed out loud in our alcove in the office, we proofread each others’ emails, and my fellow interns and I were encouraged to ask questions and speak up in meetings. These small things helped me learn about the kind of professional environment I will thrive in after graduation. For me, that was incredibly important, especially because it wasn’t at all what I was looking for when I started my summer internship search.

I was also encouraged to network and grab coffees with people I met who were interesting, which has so far been one of the best and most educational parts of my summer. Networking wasn’t something I felt comfortable doing before this summer, especially as a student; it was intimidating to ask someone for their time when there wasn’t anything I could give back in return. However, these were the conversations that I’ll remember for the rest of my life because they helped me define what kind of social justice work I feel most impactful in. All this time, I’d wanted to work in policy in DC, only to learn through these chats that what I need is to be much, much closer to the communities I’m working with. A 30,000 foot view is way too far away for me (at least for now), but I’m glad I had the chance to figure that out.

I also implemented a series of brown bag lunches for our interns that happened almost weekly, where we learned about the different parts of our organization and also got tips on going to graduate school or law school, professional development, and social media management. These were not just mini-lectures or debriefs; they gave all of us interns a chance to speak, informally, with the staff at our organization. They helped to foster a sense of community and opened the door for one-on-one talks.

My advice for people who think they want to do nonprofit social justice advocacy is to open every door. There are so many different ways to engage with this work and all of them are vastly different. It isn’t about picking an issue or a job title as much as it is doing something that you enjoy and do well. You will have the biggest impact where you feel committed to the work you’re doing and happy to be doing it.

This was another site of learning for me, as I enjoy running events and building organizational relationships, yet I was seeking out opportunities to sit back and do research. More than anything, I’ve learned that I don’t need to have it quite figured out anytime soon; now’s the time for trying it all out and seeing what fits best. This summer was the next step on an unpredictable path and I can’t wait to see where I go.

Alliance for Justice is a coalition organization. In our work, we seek to be collaborative in finding the best strategies for crafting a progressive court. The work is more than just having 120 organization names that we can put behind our work. In my time at AFJ, I’ve sat in on huge meetings, gone to protests, set up calls, and hosted events, all designed to foster greater understanding between us and the groups we work with.

A prime example of this was the census decision. While at AFJ, we deal mostly with nominees, so many of our partners in the fight for fair courts were deeply invested in ensuring an accurate and fair census count. When the decision came down on the last Thursday morning in June, we were on the steps of the Supreme Court walking the picket and supporting the important work of groups like Common Cause, The Leadership Conference, Casa, and more. 

In my work organizing at Brandeis, whether it be for transgender rights, gun violence prevention or civic engagement, I’ve learned that working in coalition like this always, always strengthens a movement, for a few reasons. First, having a broad base of support simply means your issue reaches more people. On a college campus, that means you’re able to talk to more groups of students that may never have thought about your issue until then, or you can activate communities into causes closely related to what they’re already doing. At Alliance for Justice, and in the world of national political organizing, it means more people are talking about your issue. When it comes to the courts, that is essential, because so many people don’t realize how much is at stake.

But more importantly, working in coalition means that you can learn from your partners. Here, we brought in reproductive justice organizers to give a training on making the movement for a progressive judiciary inclusive of queer and trans folks. Reproductive justice, especially questions around abortion access, is often a top-line issue in federal court fights, given the fragility of Roe v. Wade. By making these discussions more inclusive, we can start to change the conversation so that public opinion, legislation, and court decisions start reflecting these attitudes as well. 

Now, while organizing both at Alliance for Justice and at Brandeis, I plan to always ask myself what other voices could I bring to the table on this, or what voices have I not yet heard. Being in DC gives you so many opportunities to see collaborative work, from the small discussions we have in our conference rooms to the Jewish- and immigrant-led protests against deportations at the House buildings.

The most central lesson I’ve learned since being here is the value of realizing that I will always be learning. Becoming an organizer is a continuous process with no set end. Everyone that I’ve talked to here has mentioned that they are always learning, and being in coalition with so many groups willing to educate is a boon to that mission. It’s a privilege to be able to learn from so many different sources, and I will continue to do so as I develop as an organizer.

How much do you know about our courts? I’m not talking about just the Supreme Court, but our district courts and circuit courts, too. Almost every week, new judges are confirmed to the federal courts for lifetime terms, able to exercise their judgment on workers’ rights, women’s rights, LGBTQ+ discrimination, and more. And very few people are paying close attention.

Alliance for Justice, my internship site for this summer, is focused on ensuring our courts are fighting for people’s protection, and does so in two important ways. First, our team researches the records of every federal judicial nominee so people understand who they are and can oppose them if necessary. Then, more generally, we work to increase the visibility of the courts and their importance at every stage of our political process.

Working with the outreach team this summer, I have been responsible for making our mission better known to our partner organizations and those that want to work with us. Alliance for Justice represents over 130 organizations on issues of justice in the courts, but not all of them are engaged in this issue. This summer, I will be bringing them further into the fray of the work we do. Through webinars, lunches and other events, I’m hoping to bring our organizations closer to our work and empower them to speak up with us when harmful judicial nominees are presented to the Senate. We’re also going to other organizations to encourage them to talk about how the courts affect their work.

We also want to engage everyday citizens in this work. Most people don’t understand the power of nominating federal judges–but the current administration certainly does. To bring some power back to the people, we hold events in the community like book talks, lunches, and, most recently, trivia!

In June, we’ve held events on and offline to raise awareness about the intersection of LGBTQ+ rights and the federal courts. So many landmark decisions about LGBTQ+ discrimination started in the courts, and so many of the nominees to the federal bench today have atrocious records on LGBTQ+ rights. Our trivia night highlighted judicial powerhouses in protection of LGBTQ+ individuals, some horrendous nominees, and other activism in the spirit of Pride month.

Because the judiciary is the least well-known of the branches of government, half the battle is getting people to know, and the other half is getting them to care. Fighting against the tide of horrible judicial appointments is certainly an uphill battle, but Alliance for Justice has been influential in opposing, and in some cases halting, the appointment of conservative judges. The small steps of holding trivia nights and courting member organizations leads to a broader coalition of people paying attention, which leads to strong opposition to nominees like Matthew Kacsmaryk, a recently confirmed nominee who has implied that transgender people are “delusional” and that Obergefell v. Hodges, which established marriage equality, was poorly decided.

In the past two weeks since starting here, I have learned so much about how we can fight to protect our courts. On my first day, someone said, “Even if we can’t prevent these nominees from being confirmed, every day they aren’t on the court is a day someone’s case is decided more fairly.” Everything we do to stall a confirmation protects an individual who would not have otherwise received fair judgment. Those wins are just as important as getting a nominee to withdraw entirely. That is how we make the change we want to see.