The Project 

As an innovative team of community lawyers, the Detroit Justice Center will meet clients’ immediate needs and provide legal support for systemic solutions. As a fellow, Amanda will work to build an organizational culture at DJC that fosters creativity, ongoing opportunities for learning and reflection, and skill sharing across fields of law.

Amanda Alexander

Amanda Alexander, founding Executive Director of the Detroit Justice Center, is a racial justice lawyer who works alongside community-based movements to end mass incarceration and build thriving and inclusive cities. Originally from Michigan, Amanda has worked at the intersection of racial justice and community development in Detroit, New York, and South Africa for more than a decade. As a 2013-2015 Soros Justice Fellow, Amanda launched the Prison & Family Justice Project at University of Michigan Law School to provide legal representation to incarcerated parents and advocate for families divided by the prison and foster care systems. Amanda is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Afro-American Studies and a Postdoctoral Scholar in Law at the University of Michigan. She is an adviser to the National Resource Center on Children and Families of the Incarcerated, has served on the national steering committee of Law for Black Lives, and is a board member of the James and Grace Lee Boggs Center to Nurture Community Leadership. Amanda received her JD from Yale Law School, her PhD in international history from Columbia University, and her BA from Harvard College. Follow Amanda on Twitter @A_S_Alexander. 

Website: https://www.detroitjustice.org/